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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. snap — to click
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bat — the animal
  5. root — the cause
  6. file — a tool
  7. deal — to handle
  8. root — of a word
  9. file — a document
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. root — of a plant
  13. season — of the year
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. clip — to cut
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. season — in sport
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. clip — a video
  21. stand — to bear
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. season — to add flavour

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