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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. object — an aim
  3. drill — a practice
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. object — a thing
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. drill — the tool
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. object — to protest
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a skill
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. drill — army training
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. cold — an illness
  24. deal — to handle

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