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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. kick — a thrill
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. clip — for paper
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to click
  7. craft — a skill
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — in football
  11. mate — a friend
  12. clip — a video
  13. fall — to drop
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mate — to breed
  16. fall — to drop
  17. mate — a partner
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. craft — boats
  20. sharp — clever
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. sharp — exactly
  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