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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. hand — help
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mug — a face
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. clip — a video
  9. mug — a cup
  10. hand — in cards
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. mine — for digging
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. suit — in cards
  19. rash — a series
  20. suit — clothes
  21. rash — hasty
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. suit — to fit
  24. ruler — for measuring

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