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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fine · capital · dip · can · hand · lash · clip · snap

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. clip — to cut
  4. can — a tin
  5. fine — all right
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. can — a tin
  9. clip — for paper
  10. capital — a city
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. can — to be able to
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. capital — money
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. hand — help
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. clip — a video
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. dip — to sink
  23. snap — to click
  24. hand — in cards

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