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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: foot · cap · rule · sharp · snap · clip · perch · tear

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. snap — to snap out of it
  2. cap — a hat
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. foot — a measure
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rule — a law
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cap — of ice
  9. snap — to click
  10. perch — the fish
  11. tear — from crying
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. rule — government
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. tear — from crying
  19. clip — a video
  20. cap — a lid
  21. clip — to cut
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. sharp — exactly
  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