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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. key — in music
  3. cap — a hat
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rule — a law
  6. bound — tied together
  7. content — the amount
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. key — the most important part
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bound — certain
  15. wind — moving air
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bound — obliged
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. key — for a lock
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. rule — government
  23. content — happy
  24. cap — a lid

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