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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: snap · wind · club · wave · capital · clip

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. capital — money
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to click
  7. wind — moving air
  8. clip — for paper
  9. capital — a city
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. club — for dancing
  12. wind — moving air
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. club — for golf

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