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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. key — in music
  8. cold — an illness
  9. key — for a lock
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — in a road
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. key — the most important part
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pitcher — a jug

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