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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. snap — to click
  5. clip — a video
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. clip — for paper
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. saw — the tool
  13. rock — a stone
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mug — a cup
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. saw — the tool
  19. mug — a face
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. mug — to rob
  22. rock — music
  23. bat — the animal
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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