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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. cue — for pool
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — for golf
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cue — a signal
  9. rest — a break
  10. clip — to cut
  11. capital — money
  12. clip — a video
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bound — obliged
  15. cue — a hint
  16. bound — certain
  17. rest — what's left
  18. capital — a city
  19. rest — what's left
  20. snap — to click
  21. bound — tied together
  22. clip — for paper
  23. club — a group
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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