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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. clip — a video
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. row — a line
  6. clip — to cut
  7. ground — the earth
  8. snap — to click
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. ground — a position
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. row — to paddle
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. clip — for paper
  18. capital — a city
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. capital — money
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. ground — crushed

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