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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. field — farmland
  4. court — of a king
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. clip — to cut
  7. court — for sport
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. snap — to click
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. mark — a grade
  14. stem — to come from
  15. mark — a trace
  16. object — an aim
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. field — for sport
  19. court — of law
  20. object — to protest
  21. field — a subject
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. object — a thing
  24. clip — a video

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