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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. chest — of your body
  5. snap — to click
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. kid — child
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. chest — a box
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. staff — employees
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. kid — to tease
  21. staff — a stick
  22. chest — of your body
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. staff — employees

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