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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.

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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. clip — for paper
  3. deal — to handle
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. clip — to cut
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. rest — what's left
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the sport
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. saw — the tool
  16. kick — in football
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. saw — the tool
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. rest — a break
  22. rest — what's left
  23. clip — a video
  24. snap — to click

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