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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: clip · bowl · key · wind · ground · snap · wave · game

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. ground — the earth
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. clip — to cut
  5. snap — to click
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. game — a match
  13. clip — a video
  14. key — for a lock
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. key — in music
  17. ground — crushed
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. wind — moving air
  21. key — the most important part
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. ground — a position
  24. wind — moving air

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