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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. snap — to click
  3. march — the month
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. cold — an illness
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. charge — in control
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wound — an injury
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. wound — an injury
  16. march — the month
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. pitch — completely
  19. charge — a price
  20. charge — electricity
  21. march — music
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. leaves — lets stay

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