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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. season — in sport
  3. face — part of the head
  4. face — to confront
  5. snap — to click
  6. mark — a trace
  7. season — of the year
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. clip — a video
  11. stem — to come from
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. mark — a grade
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. face — to point toward
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. clip — for paper
  21. saw — the tool
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. saw — the tool
  24. stem — of a plant

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