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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: wake · straw · rest · deal · clip · racket · row · snap

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. row — a line
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. row — to paddle
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. snap — to click
  15. deal — to handle
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. rest — what's left
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. clip — a video
  23. rest — a break
  24. wake — a trail

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