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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 116 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 · bore · capital · wake · snap · pitcher · bear · fall

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. clip — a video
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bore — to drill
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. snap — to click
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. clip — for paper
  22. capital — money
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bore — to tire

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