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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: staff · coach · present · clip · snap · cold · season · ruler

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. clip — for paper
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. staff — employees
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. season — of the year
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. cold — an illness
  10. clip — a video
  11. staff — employees
  12. present — a gift
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. snap — to click
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. clip — to cut
  18. season — in sport
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. present — there
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. staff — a stick
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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