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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. snap — to click
  3. pit — a hole
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pass — a permit
  7. scale — in music
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. ground — a position
  10. pit — in a race
  11. clip — to cut
  12. scale — size or range
  13. drill — a practice
  14. clip — a video
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. drill — the tool
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. drill — army training
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. ground — crushed
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. clip — for paper

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