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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 120 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bound — certain
  4. squash — the sport
  5. ground — the earth
  6. lean — thin
  7. saw — the tool
  8. clip — a video
  9. snap — to click
  10. ground — a position
  11. clip — for paper
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. lean — to bend
  16. squash — to crush
  17. saw — the tool
  18. clip — to cut
  19. land — ground
  20. bound — obliged
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. bound — tied together

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