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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 120 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. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. snap — to click
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rush — hurry
  8. bound — tied together
  9. chip — for betting
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. cold — not warm
  16. tube — a container
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. wind — moving air
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bound — obliged
  21. tube — the underground
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bound — certain
  24. chip — to eat

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