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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. prune — to trim
  3. snap — to click
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. bat — the animal
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. key — for a lock
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. key — the most important part
  11. deal — to handle
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. key — in music
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. prune — to trim
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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