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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wind — moving air
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cap — of ice
  11. hand — help
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — the cause
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. cap — a lid
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. cap — a hat
  24. root — of a plant

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