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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: wind · snap · game · bowl · bank · staff · rest · clip

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wind — moving air
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — employees
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. bank — for money
  12. clip — to cut
  13. staff — a stick
  14. clip — a video
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bank — for money
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. game — wild animals
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bank — of a river
  22. snap — to click
  23. rest — what's left
  24. game — a match

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