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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: straw · swing · toast · vault · clip · snap · wave · last

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. clip — a video
  9. swing — in golf
  10. last — to go on
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. swing — to play on
  14. last — final
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. toast — bread
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. swing — music
  21. last — finally
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. vault — a safe
  24. clip — to cut

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