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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. wind — moving air
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. board — a committee
  10. march — music
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. board — to get on
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. snap — to click
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. cue — a hint
  20. press — a publisher
  21. cue — for pool
  22. press — newspapers
  23. cue — a signal
  24. press — to push

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