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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: wake · snap · pitch · staff · tear · mine · clip · lie

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. staff — employees
  3. wake — a trail
  4. pitch — completely
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. snap — to click
  8. lie — to recline
  9. staff — a stick
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mine — for digging
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. clip — a video
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. staff — employees

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