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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: clip · leaves · snap · game · bank · squash · chair · wind

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bank — of a river
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. snap — to click
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. chair — a leader
  9. clip — a video
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bank — for money
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bank — for money
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. game — a match
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. clip — to cut
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. chair — a professorship

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