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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 116 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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. court — of law
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. press — a publisher
  5. drill — the tool
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mug — a face
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. drill — a practice
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. mug — to rob
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. clip — to cut
  17. drill — army training
  18. press — newspapers
  19. stem — to come from
  20. kid — child
  21. press — to push
  22. kid — to tease
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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