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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 · lean · rock · snap · wound · bat · kid · lie

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. lie — to recline
  12. rock — music
  13. bat — the animal
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. wound — an injury
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — a video
  20. rock — a stone
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. kid — to tease
  24. clip — to cut

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