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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. clip — for paper
  3. mark — a trace
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. rash — hasty
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. last — final
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. clip — a video
  11. last — finally
  12. foot — a measure
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. last — to go on
  15. mark — a grade
  16. rash — a series
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. clip — to cut
  19. sharp — clever
  20. dip — to sink
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. dip — a sauce

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