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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rest — a break
  4. staff — employees
  5. clip — to cut
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. rest — what's left
  11. clip — for paper
  12. staff — a stick
  13. clip — a video
  14. rest — what's left
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. bank — for money
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. snap — to click
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — to come from
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bank — of a river
  23. bank — for money
  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