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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. clip — a video
  3. file — a tool
  4. mug — a face
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. clip — to cut
  9. can — a tin
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. can — to be able to
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. mug — a cup
  16. snap — to click
  17. mug — to rob
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. file — a line of people
  20. wake — a trail
  21. can — a tin
  22. file — a document
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — before a funeral

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