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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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Word bank
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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: snap · fan · cold · key · rush · fine · clip · season

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. key — for a lock
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. snap — to click
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — high quality
  8. clip — to cut
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. clip — a video
  14. rush — hurry
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. season — of the year
  17. clip — for paper
  18. key — the most important part
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. key — in music
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. season — in sport

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