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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to click
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. current — electric
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. clip — a video
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. current — of water
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. staff — employees
  14. branch — a division
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. staff — a stick
  18. current — happening now
  19. clip — to cut
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. staff — employees
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. bat — the animal

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