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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. toast — bread
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. clip — a video
  5. snap — to click
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. bat — the animal
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. net — for catching
  15. ball — a dance
  16. clip — to cut
  17. net — after costs
  18. squash — to crush
  19. net — in sport
  20. ball — a great time
  21. squash — the sport
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. ball — a round shape

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