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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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. clip — a video
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. wound — an injury
  11. clip — for paper
  12. snap — to click
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. chair — a leader
  18. clip — to cut

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