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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: clip · branch · hand · current · cap · court · snap · object

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. branch — a division
  3. current — of water
  4. current — electric
  5. current — happening now
  6. court — of law
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. object — a thing
  9. cap — a hat
  10. object — an aim
  11. object — to protest
  12. snap — to click
  13. court — for sport
  14. cap — a lid
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. hand — help
  20. court — of a king
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. clip — to cut
  23. cap — of ice
  24. branch — of a bank

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