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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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468
Word bank
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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. wake — a trail
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. snap — to click
  10. clip — to cut
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. key — in music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — in football
  19. key — for a lock
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. clip — a video
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. key — the most important part

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