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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 116 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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — for a lock
  4. rock — a stone
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. content — happy
  10. clip — a video
  11. rock — music
  12. charge — electricity
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. clip — for paper
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. content — the amount
  18. charge — a price
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. charge — in control
  21. branch — a division
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. key — in music

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