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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: kick · clip · board · snap · capital · craft

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. capital — money
  3. craft — boats
  4. board — to get on
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. board — a committee
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. snap — to click
  14. capital — a city
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. clip — a video
  17. craft — a skill
  18. 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