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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. mark — a grade
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. date — the fruit
  9. kick — in football
  10. ball — a great time
  11. clip — a video
  12. mark — a trace
  13. file — a line of people
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. fall — to drop
  17. ball — a dance
  18. snap — to click
  19. fall — the season
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. file — a document
  22. fall — to drop
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. mark — to pay attention

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