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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 · mark · snap · club · wake · fall · field · pound

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. snap — to click
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for golf
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mark — a grade
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. clip — for paper
  10. field — farmland
  11. fall — the season
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wake — a trail
  16. club — for dancing
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. fall — to drop
  23. field — a subject
  24. pound — a weight

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