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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: mate · tube · bear · cell · mine · clip · wake · snap

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. mine — for digging
  5. tube — a container
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a friend
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bear — the animal
  14. snap — to click
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wake — a trail
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bear — the animal

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