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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. mark — a grade
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. fall — to drop
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. mark — a trace
  9. net — for catching
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to click
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. clip — to cut
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. net — after costs
  18. clip — a video
  19. bear — the animal
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. sharp — clever
  22. bear — the animal
  23. net — in sport
  24. fall — the season

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