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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 116 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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. pass — a permit
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. fall — to drop
  15. content — the amount
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. content — happy
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. snap — to click
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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