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

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. charge — electricity
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. stock — shares
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. charge — a price
  12. drill — the tool
  13. cold — an illness
  14. charge — in control
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a hat
  17. stock — goods
  18. snap — to click

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