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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. last — finally
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. clip — for paper
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. snap — to click
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to tire
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. last — to go on
  12. net — for catching
  13. last — final
  14. fine — all right
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. bore — to drill
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. toast — bread
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — in sport

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