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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. clip — to cut
  3. can — to be able to
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. degree — temperature
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. can — a tin
  9. degree — an amount
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. ground — crushed
  14. can — a tin
  15. ground — a position
  16. prune — to trim
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. ground — the earth
  19. prune — to trim
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. degree — from a university
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. prune — the fruit

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