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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. clip — a video
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. sharp — clever
  7. snap — to click
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rest — what's left
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. rest — what's left
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. perch — the fish
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. clip — for paper
  21. stand — to bear
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. rest — a break

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