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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. charge — electricity
  4. ground — the earth
  5. plane — a tool
  6. charge — in control
  7. clip — a video
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. scale — size or range
  10. clip — to cut
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. clip — for paper
  18. charge — a price
  19. ground — a position
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. scale — in music
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. ground — crushed

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