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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. mug — a face
  4. staff — a stick
  5. clip — a video
  6. pop — music
  7. clip — for paper
  8. staff — employees
  9. mug — to rob
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. last — finally
  14. field — for sport
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. clip — to cut
  17. pop — soda
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — final
  20. pop — to visit
  21. mug — a cup
  22. staff — employees
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — a subject

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