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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. snap — to click
  4. club — for golf
  5. clip — to cut
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. march — the month
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cold — not warm
  11. staff — employees
  12. cold — an illness
  13. object — an aim
  14. march — the month
  15. clip — a video
  16. object — a thing
  17. march — music
  18. saw — the tool
  19. staff — employees
  20. club — a group
  21. staff — a stick
  22. saw — the tool
  23. clip — for paper
  24. object — to protest

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