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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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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: pit · clip · snap · firm · roll · race · squash · wound

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. pit — in a race
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to click
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. firm — decided
  7. pit — a hole
  8. squash — to crush
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wound — an injury
  11. race — the arms race
  12. roll — a cake
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. wound — an injury
  17. clip — a video
  18. roll — a list
  19. squash — the sport
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. firm — a company
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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