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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. clip — to cut
  4. craft — a skill
  5. rush — hurry
  6. clip — for paper
  7. band — a ring
  8. clip — a video
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. cue — a hint
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. cue — for pool
  15. snap — to click
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. sharp — clever
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. cue — a signal
  21. band — a music group
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. craft — boats

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