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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wound — an injury
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to click
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. club — for golf
  7. cap — a hat
  8. clip — a video
  9. board — a committee
  10. cap — of ice
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. clip — to cut
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. club — a group
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wound — an injury
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — to get on
  22. cap — a lid
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. rush — hurry

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