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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. object — an aim
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. clip — to cut
  6. snap — to click
  7. object — a thing
  8. staff — a stick
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wound — an injury
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. content — the amount
  16. staff — employees
  17. object — to protest
  18. clip — a video
  19. content — happy
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. plane — a tool
  22. cell — a phone
  23. staff — employees
  24. cell — in biology

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