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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. mark — a trace
  6. tube — a container
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. clip — for paper
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. clip — a video
  15. tube — the underground
  16. ball — a dance
  17. bass — the fish
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. bass — low music
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. ball — a great time
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. mark — a grade

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