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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: lean · firm · cell · bank · snap · clip · spring · hand

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. lean — thin
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — in biology
  5. clip — a video
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. bank — for money
  8. firm — decided
  9. clip — for paper
  10. spring — a coil
  11. firm — steady
  12. firm — a company
  13. spring — of water
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. spring — the season
  18. bank — for money
  19. clip — to cut
  20. lean — to bend
  21. hand — help
  22. bank — of a river
  23. cell — a phone
  24. hand — in cards

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