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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 124 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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. clip — a video
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. last — finally
  6. last — to go on
  7. net — for catching
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. pit — in a race
  11. sharp — clever
  12. last — final
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — in sport
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. pit — a hole
  18. wax — to grow
  19. snap — to click
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. clip — for paper
  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