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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. field — a subject
  5. clip — a video
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. clip — to cut
  8. field — for sport
  9. wake — a trail
  10. object — an aim
  11. clip — for paper
  12. snap — to click
  13. band — a music group
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. object — a thing
  17. field — farmland
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. tube — a container
  20. object — to protest
  21. tube — the underground
  22. band — a ring
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. club — a group

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