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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: wind · rest · sharp · snap · cold · cabinet · suit · row

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. suit — in cards
  3. row — a line
  4. sharp — clever
  5. row — to paddle
  6. wind — moving air
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. rest — a break
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. suit — clothes
  15. snap — to click
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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