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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mark — a trace
  3. drill — army training
  4. mark — a grade
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. pass — a permit
  7. game — a match
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bark — to shout
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. snap — to click
  13. drill — the tool
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. clip — a video
  18. kick — in football
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. drill — a practice
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. game — wild animals

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