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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 120 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: tear · key · bear · snap · cap · clip · stand · cold

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. cap — a lid
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. cap — a hat
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. cold — not warm
  7. clip — for paper
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bear — the animal
  11. key — the most important part
  12. key — in music
  13. cold — an illness
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bear — the animal
  16. clip — to cut
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. clip — a video
  20. stand — to bear
  21. cap — of ice
  22. snap — to click
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. key — for a lock

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