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

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. last — finally
  6. tube — a container
  7. last — final
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. lean — to bend
  11. clip — for paper
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. last — to go on
  14. race — a contest
  15. snap — to click
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. tube — the underground
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. net — after costs
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. tube — in a tire

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