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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. fine — high quality
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stem — to come from
  11. wound — an injury
  12. snap — to click
  13. band — a ring
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bore — to drill
  18. band — a music group
  19. fine — all right
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bore — to tire
  24. band — a rubber band

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