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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: nail · bound · snap · pitcher · pound · dip · root · clip

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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. clip — to cut
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. root — the cause
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. dip — to sink
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. snap — to click
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bound — certain
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. root — of a word
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bound — tied together
  21. root — of a plant
  22. bound — obliged
  23. clip — a video
  24. nail — for a hammer

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