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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: shower · straw · fan · can · pop · mug · snap · clip

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. can — a tin
  3. pop — soda
  4. mug — to rob
  5. can — to be able to
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. shower — to wash
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. can — a tin
  11. shower — rain
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pop — to visit
  17. mug — a face
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. pop — music
  20. clip — a video
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mug — a cup
  24. fan — a supporter

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