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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. pit — a hole
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. mate — a partner
  6. clip — to cut
  7. can — to be able to
  8. ground — crushed
  9. mate — a friend
  10. ground — a position
  11. can — a tin
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. pit — in a race
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. mate — to breed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. kid — child
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. clip — for paper
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. foot — a measure
  24. can — a tin

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