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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 120 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: rule · snap · coach · tear · wake · game · mate · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rule — a law
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. mate — to breed
  6. wake — a trail
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. snap — to click
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rule — government
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. clip — a video
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. clip — to cut
  17. game — a match
  18. game — wild animals
  19. mate — a friend
  20. tear — to rip
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. mate — a partner

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