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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: spell · clip · firm · last · snap · bass · bat · lean

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. clip — a video
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bass — the fish
  6. spell — letters
  7. spell — magic
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. last — finally
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bass — low music
  14. last — final
  15. firm — a company
  16. lean — to bend
  17. last — to go on
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to click
  22. firm — steady
  23. firm — decided
  24. clip — for paper

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