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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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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: leaves · capital · snap · net · kid · rush · swing · clip

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. swing — in golf
  4. net — for catching
  5. swing — to play on
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. net — in sport
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. swing — music
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. kid — child
  13. clip — to cut
  14. capital — money
  15. rush — hurry
  16. kid — to tease
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. clip — for paper
  19. net — after costs
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. clip — a video
  22. capital — a city
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. snap — to click

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