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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · bowl · pop · file · snap · march · stick · kick

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. march — the month
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. kick — in football
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. face — to point toward
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. file — a document
  13. march — the month
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. file — a tool
  16. face — part of the head
  17. pop — to visit
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. march — music
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. face — to confront
  22. snap — to click
  23. pop — soda
  24. file — a line of people

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com