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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.

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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: capital · rock · swing · kick · tube · clip · suit · last

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — the underground
  5. swing — to play on
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. kick — in football
  8. last — finally
  9. suit — to fit
  10. rock — music
  11. clip — a video
  12. suit — in cards
  13. clip — to cut
  14. last — to go on
  15. suit — clothes
  16. rock — a stone
  17. swing — in golf
  18. tube — a container
  19. swing — music
  20. capital — a city
  21. last — final
  22. clip — for paper
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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