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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bat — the animal
  5. present — there
  6. bore — to drill
  7. snap — to click
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — of ice
  11. net — in sport
  12. cap — a lid
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. cold — not warm
  15. present — the time now
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. present — a gift
  21. net — after costs
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. net — for catching
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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