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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: snap · mine · clip · fork · stand · bound · pitcher · wound

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bound — tied together
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. clip — a video
  5. fork — in a road
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bound — certain
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. snap — to click
  16. mine — for digging
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. bound — obliged
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. fork — a garden tool

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