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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. cap — a lid
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. shower — rain
  7. key — the most important part
  8. rest — what's left
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cold — an illness
  12. key — for a lock
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. key — in music
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — a trail
  20. cap — a hat
  21. snap — to click
  22. rest — a break
  23. cap — of ice
  24. nail — for a hammer

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