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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. craft — boats
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. ground — the earth
  5. clip — to cut
  6. ground — a position
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. clip — for paper
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. foot — a measure
  12. craft — a skill
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. track — a song
  15. track — to keep track
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. clip — a video
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. track — a path
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. ground — crushed
  24. foot — part of the body

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