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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. pit — a hole
  4. march — the month
  5. pit — in a race
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bear — the animal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bear — the animal
  15. tube — the underground
  16. sharp — clever
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. clip — a video
  19. tube — a container
  20. march — the month
  21. pass — a permit
  22. march — music
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. pass — to spend time

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