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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 120 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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. spell — letters
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. clip — to cut
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. spell — a short time
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. last — final
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. last — finally
  20. stem — to come from
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. clip — a video
  23. spell — magic
  24. last — to go on

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