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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: wave · snap · craft · bank · sharp · tear · patient · clip

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bank — for money
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. clip — a video
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. craft — boats
  9. sharp — clever
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. tear — from crying
  13. craft — a skill
  14. bank — of a river
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bank — for money
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. tear — to rip
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. wave — of the sea

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