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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. object — a thing
  3. object — an aim
  4. snap — to click
  5. saw — the tool
  6. clip — a video
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. saw — the tool
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. chair — a leader
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cold — an illness
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wake — a trail
  19. cold — not warm
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. clip — for paper
  24. object — to protest

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