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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: chair · kick · suit · hide · snap · clip

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. suit — in cards
  4. clip — to cut
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. clip — a video
  10. suit — to fit
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. suit — clothes
  16. clip — for paper
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. kick — a thrill

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