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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 120 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 · foot · lean · lie · straw · swing · key · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. key — for a lock
  3. lie — to recline
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. lean — thin
  7. foot — a measure
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. swing — in golf
  10. key — in music
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. clip — a video
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. lean — to bend
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. swing — to play on
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. key — the most important part
  23. swing — music
  24. lie — an untruth

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