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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. content — happy
  4. clip — a video
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. degree — from a university
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. content — the amount
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. pass — a permit
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. snap — to click

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