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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: spring · can · wake · hand · clip · snap · foot · arm

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — a coil
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — a measure
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. spring — the season
  9. can — a tin
  10. hand — help
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. wake — a trail
  14. hand — in cards
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. can — to be able to
  20. snap — to click
  21. clip — for paper
  22. can — a tin
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. clip — a video

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