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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. clip — a video
  3. key — the most important part
  4. snap — to click
  5. game — a match
  6. rest — a break
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. clip — to cut
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. mate — to breed
  11. game — wild animals
  12. fork — in a road
  13. mate — a partner
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. clip — for paper
  16. key — in music
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. key — for a lock
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. rest — what's left
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. rest — what's left
  24. fork — a garden tool

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