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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  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. cell — a phone
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. key — in music
  5. object — a thing
  6. clip — to cut
  7. spell — magic
  8. key — for a lock
  9. spell — a short time
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wake — a trail
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. rest — a break
  14. object — to protest
  15. spell — letters
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. key — the most important part
  19. object — an aim
  20. snap — to click
  21. clip — a video
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. cell — in biology
  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