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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. can — a tin
  3. snap — to click
  4. clip — to cut
  5. can — a tin
  6. drill — army training
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. hand — in cards
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. last — finally
  15. drill — a practice
  16. hand — help
  17. drill — the tool
  18. can — to be able to
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. clip — a video
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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