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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. rule — government
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rule — a law
  7. perch — the fish
  8. present — a gift
  9. present — the time now
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bank — for money
  15. court — for sport
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bank — of a river
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. bank — for money
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. present — there
  22. clip — a video
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. perch — for a bird

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