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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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Word bank
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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: patient · snap · wind · nail · clip · bulb

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bulb — for light
  6. clip — to cut
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. clip — a video
  11. bulb — for light
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. clip — for paper
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bulb — of a plant

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