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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. sharp — clever
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. mug — to rob
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. clip — to cut
  10. spring — of water
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. snap — to click
  13. mug — a cup
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. clip — a video
  19. spring — a coil
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. spring — the season
  22. mug — a face
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. sharp — exactly

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