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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. sharp — clever
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. staff — a stick
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. bound — certain
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bound — tied together
  14. snap — to click
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. last — finally
  17. staff — employees
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bound — obliged
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. clip — for paper
  22. staff — employees
  23. clip — a video
  24. toast — bread

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