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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: pound · snap · dip · hand · clip · shower · lean · squash

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. clip — to cut
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pound — a weight
  7. lean — to bend
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. squash — the sport
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. squash — to crush
  13. shower — rain
  14. lean — thin
  15. shower — to wash
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. clip — a video
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. dip — to sink
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. hand — in cards

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