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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. file — a line of people
  3. object — to protest
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. pit — a hole
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. suit — clothes
  9. sharp — clever
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. file — a document
  13. present — a gift
  14. suit — in cards
  15. suit — to fit
  16. file — a tool
  17. object — a thing
  18. pit — in a race
  19. present — there
  20. object — an aim
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. clip — a video
  23. present — the time now
  24. sharp — with an edge

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