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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 · swing · capital · court · kick · drill

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. court — of a king
  4. capital — money
  5. court — for sport
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. drill — a practice
  10. snap — to click
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. kick — in football
  14. capital — a city
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. swing — music
  18. court — of law

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