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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: snap · pitcher · wound · bear · clip · leaves · toast · tube

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bear — the animal
  3. tube — a container
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. wound — an injury
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. snap — to click
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. clip — a video
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. bear — the animal
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. toast — bread
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. wound — an injury

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