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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pit · clip · snap · straw · firm · race

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pit — a hole
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — humankind
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. firm — decided
  8. clip — to cut
  9. firm — a company
  10. race — the arms race
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. firm — steady
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. clip — for paper
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. clip — a video
  18. straw — dry grass

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