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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: cap · toast · fall · snap · chip · wound · sharp · wind

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. fall — the season
  6. toast — bread
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fall — to drop
  10. chip — to eat
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. wound — an injury
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. wind — moving air
  15. snap — to click
  16. cap — a lid
  17. sharp — clever
  18. chip — for betting
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. cap — of ice
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wound — an injury
  24. sharp — with an edge

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