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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: bank · bat · dip · spell · game · snap · clip · fine

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — for money
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. clip — for paper
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. clip — to cut
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bat — the animal
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. game — a match
  17. dip — to sink
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — magic
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. clip — a video
  23. snap — to click
  24. spell — letters

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