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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. clip — to cut
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. shower — to wash
  7. mug — a cup
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. shower — rain
  14. clip — a video
  15. season — in sport
  16. mug — to rob
  17. pitch — completely
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to click
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. clip — for paper
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. mug — a face

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