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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. snap — to click
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. row — a line
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. bulb — for light
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. kick — in football
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bulb — for light
  16. lie — to recline
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. row — to paddle
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. court — of law
  22. clip — to cut
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of a king

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