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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: snap · clip · mine · shower · lie · stick · club · mate

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. club — a group
  6. snap — to click
  7. club — for golf
  8. shower — rain
  9. lie — to recline
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — to breed
  12. club — for dancing
  13. mine — for digging
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. mate — a partner

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