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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. march — the month
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. mark — a grade
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. suit — clothes
  9. mark — a trace
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — help
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. pound — a weight
  15. clip — a video
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. march — the month
  18. suit — to fit
  19. snap — to click
  20. suit — in cards
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. clip — for paper
  23. march — music
  24. prune — to trim

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