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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 120 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 · race · last · snap · clip · pound

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. snap — to click
  3. race — the arms race
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. clip — a video
  6. race — a contest
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. last — to go on
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pound — a weight
  14. last — finally
  15. race — humankind
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. last — final
  18. clip — for paper

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