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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. key — for a lock
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. snap — to click
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. key — in music
  7. present — there
  8. can — a tin
  9. clip — a video
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. key — the most important part
  12. present — the time now
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. can — to be able to
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. present — a gift
  22. cold — not warm
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. can — a tin

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