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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 120 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. kick — in football
  3. track — to keep track
  4. charge — electricity
  5. charge — a price
  6. snap — to click
  7. track — a path
  8. clip — a video
  9. charge — in control
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. track — a song
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. clip — to cut
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a skill
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. clip — for paper
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. race — humankind
  24. kick — a thrill

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