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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. stand — to bear
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. chip — to eat
  15. saw — the tool
  16. sharp — clever
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. chip — for betting

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