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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fine · ruler · snap · cold · bound · clip · mate · squash

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cold — an illness
  3. clip — a video
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. squash — to crush
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. fine — all right
  8. clip — to cut
  9. mate — to breed
  10. squash — the sport
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — tied together
  17. fine — high quality
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bound — obliged
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. mate — a partner
  24. fine — a penalty

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