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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 124 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. can — a tin
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. can — to be able to
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. clip — a video
  8. fall — to drop
  9. capital — money
  10. snap — to click
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. fall — the season
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. clip — for paper
  15. can — a tin
  16. fall — to drop
  17. kick — in football
  18. capital — a city
  19. clip — to cut
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — a line
  24. arm — a part of something

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