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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: sharp · kick · snap · clip · suit · key · rush · wind

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. clip — for paper
  3. suit — to fit
  4. key — the most important part
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to click
  9. key — for a lock
  10. rush — hurry
  11. wind — moving air
  12. clip — to cut
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. kick — in football
  17. clip — a video
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. sharp — clever
  20. suit — clothes
  21. key — in music
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. suit — in cards

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