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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. wind — moving air
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. clip — a video
  8. hand — in cards
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. snap — to click
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wind — moving air
  14. clip — for paper
  15. pitch — completely
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. object — an aim
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. hand — help
  21. object — to protest
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. object — a thing
  24. pitch — a sports field

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