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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. track — to keep track
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. dip — to sink
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. track — a path
  14. track — a song
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mark — a trace
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. sharp — clever
  19. deal — to handle
  20. snap — to click
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — to come from

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