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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 124 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. suit — clothes
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. fine — all right
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. fine — high quality
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. row — a line
  13. capital — a city
  14. suit — to fit
  15. cold — not warm
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. row — to paddle
  22. capital — money
  23. suit — in cards
  24. kick — in football

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