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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  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. clip — to cut
  2. staff — employees
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rush — hurry
  7. sharp — clever
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. clip — a video
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. toast — bread
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. fan — a supporter
  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