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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: rule · fine · rest · snap · hide · cold · craft · clip

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. fine — high quality
  5. rest — a break
  6. rule — a law
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. snap — to click
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. fine — all right
  11. clip — for paper
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. rest — what's left
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a skill
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cold — an illness
  22. clip — a video
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rule — government

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