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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. snap — to click
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. bass — low music
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. last — finally
  10. mark — a trace
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. clip — a video
  14. last — final
  15. bass — the fish
  16. foot — a measure
  17. clip — to cut
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. last — to go on

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