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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 120 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. clip — for paper
  4. shower — to wash
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. kick — in football
  8. clip — a video
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. capital — money
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. shower — rain
  14. bore — to drill
  15. clip — to cut
  16. capital — a city
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. rule — government
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. snap — to click
  23. rule — a law
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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