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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cold — an illness
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. cap — a lid
  8. scale — size or range
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. wake — a trail
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. present — the time now
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — of ice
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. scale — in music
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. cold — not warm
  21. present — a gift
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. present — there

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