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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: bear · trunk · clip · fall · temple · object · snap · wind

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fall — the season
  4. object — a thing
  5. object — to protest
  6. object — an aim
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bear — the animal
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bear — the animal
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fall — to drop
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. clip — to cut
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. clip — a video
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. fall — to drop

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