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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 · bore · snap · wake · clip · swing · lash · bat

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. wake — a trail
  4. clip — a video
  5. bat — the animal
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bore — to drill
  14. swing — to play on
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. swing — in golf
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. bore — to tire
  20. clip — for paper
  21. swing — music
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bat — in an idiom

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