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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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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: hide · clip · row · sharp · snap · rock · kick · patient

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. sharp — clever
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. rock — a stone
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. kick — in football
  7. clip — to cut
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. clip — a video
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a line
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. snap — to click
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rock — music
  23. clip — for paper
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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