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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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Word bank
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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 · wake · snap · mine · present · mark · ball · rest

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. mark — a trace
  3. wake — a trail
  4. snap — to click
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. present — a gift
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. present — the time now
  11. rest — a break
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. ball — a dance
  15. mark — a grade
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. clip — a video
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. present — there
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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