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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: bat · cue · current · mine · pit · clip · face · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. clip — to cut
  3. current — of water
  4. clip — a video
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bat — the animal
  7. snap — to click
  8. current — happening now
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a hole
  12. face — part of the head
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. cue — a hint
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cue — for pool
  19. mine — for digging
  20. current — electric
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. face — to confront
  24. cue — a signal

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