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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: mark · hand · clip · snap · club · bat · fork · cabinet

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. clip — for paper
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. clip — a video
  6. hand — help
  7. club — a group
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. fork — in a road
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — for dancing
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to click

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