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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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. clip — to cut
  3. row — to paddle
  4. snap — to click
  5. track — a song
  6. pop — to visit
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. pop — soda
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bank — for money
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — a position
  14. pop — music
  15. bank — for money
  16. clip — a video
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. row — a line
  20. track — a path
  21. clip — for paper
  22. track — to keep track
  23. ground — crushed
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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