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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. drill — army training
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to click
  5. clip — a video
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. clip — to cut
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to confront
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. court — of a king
  14. chair — a leader
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. drill — a practice
  17. face — to point toward
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. drill — the tool
  23. deal — to handle
  24. clip — for paper

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