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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: clip · row · deal · stick · snap · chest · land · bark

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. deal — to handle
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. row — to paddle
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. chest — of your body
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. chest — a box
  15. land — a country
  16. bark — to shout
  17. land — to come down
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. row — a line
  22. snap — to click
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. land — ground

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