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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 124 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 need to ________________ round.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — of a river
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pop — soda
  6. bank — for money
  7. ground — a position
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. ground — crushed
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. pop — music
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. sharp — clever
  18. craft — boats
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to click
  22. craft — a skill
  23. clip — a video
  24. kick — in football

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