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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. ball — a great time
  3. staff — a stick
  4. stand — to bear
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wind — moving air
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. staff — employees
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to click
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. cold — an illness
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. staff — employees

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