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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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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: lean · firm · cell · bank · snap · clip

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. firm — steady
  3. firm — a company
  4. bank — for money
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. lean — thin
  8. snap — to click
  9. bank — for money
  10. cell — a phone
  11. firm — decided
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bank — of a river
  14. lean — to bend
  15. clip — for paper
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. clip — a video

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