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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: clip · wave · craft · pitch · chest · date · game · snap

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. craft — boats
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. date — the fruit
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. pitch — completely
  9. snap — to click
  10. clip — for paper
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. game — a match
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. game — wild animals
  18. craft — a skill
  19. chest — of your body
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. clip — a video
  22. chest — of your body
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pitch — a sports field

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