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

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pass — a permit
  3. clip — a video
  4. track — to keep track
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cell — a phone
  15. track — a song
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. track — a path
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. mine — for digging
  20. cell — in biology
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. ruler — a monarch

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