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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · foot · pit · spring · snap · clip · toast · stand

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. pit — a hole
  5. content — the amount
  6. clip — to cut
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. toast — bread
  9. foot — a measure
  10. snap — to click
  11. spring — a coil
  12. clip — for paper
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. stand — to bear
  18. content — happy
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. pit — in a race
  24. clip — a video

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