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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. object — a thing
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. saw — the tool
  6. staff — employees
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. object — to protest
  14. clip — a video
  15. staff — employees
  16. press — a publisher
  17. clip — to cut
  18. object — an aim
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — clever
  21. press — newspapers
  22. staff — a stick
  23. saw — the tool
  24. press — to push

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