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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. clip — a video
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mate — a partner
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — of water
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for dancing
  10. lie — to recline
  11. clip — to cut
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mine — for digging
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. sharp — clever
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. club — for golf
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. clip — for paper
  23. mate — to breed
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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