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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. snap — to click
  5. court — of law
  6. hand — help
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. clip — to cut
  9. lean — to bend
  10. clip — for paper
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. fall — the season
  14. stock — goods
  15. fall — to drop
  16. lean — thin
  17. court — of a king
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. court — for sport
  20. stock — shares
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. fall — to drop
  24. lean — to rest against

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