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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 116 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. drill — a practice
  3. mark — a grade
  4. field — for sport
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. drill — the tool
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — in a road
  11. field — farmland
  12. clip — a video
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a trace
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. drill — army training
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. field — a subject
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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