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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. key — for a lock
  4. snap — to click
  5. net — in sport
  6. key — the most important part
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — to play on
  10. net — after costs
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. stem — to come from
  15. clip — a video
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. key — in music
  18. wax — to grow
  19. fine — high quality
  20. net — for catching
  21. fine — all right
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. swing — music
  24. fine — a penalty

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