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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. pit — a hole
  5. wake — a trail
  6. game — wild animals
  7. clip — to cut
  8. suit — to fit
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. key — for a lock
  16. clip — for paper
  17. key — the most important part
  18. file — a document
  19. suit — clothes
  20. pit — in a race
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. key — in music
  23. clip — a video
  24. game — a match

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