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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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. craft — a skill
  3. pit — a hole
  4. lie — to recline
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. content — the amount
  8. pit — in a race
  9. bank — for money
  10. clip — for paper
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. net — in sport
  13. craft — boats
  14. content — happy
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. net — after costs
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. clip — a video
  19. snap — to click
  20. net — for catching
  21. bank — for money
  22. clip — to cut
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. bank — of a river

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