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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. saw — the tool
  5. object — a thing
  6. object — to protest
  7. pit — a hole
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. clip — a video
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to click
  17. saw — the tool
  18. band — a music group
  19. object — an aim
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. pit — in a race
  22. band — a ring
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. sharp — clever

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