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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: land · mark · clip · fan · kick · snap · fine · cap

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. snap — to click
  4. land — a country
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. mark — a trace
  7. clip — a video
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. mark — a grade
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. fine — high quality
  12. cap — of ice
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. kick — in football
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. clip — for paper
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. fine — all right
  20. clip — to cut
  21. cap — a lid
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. cap — a hat

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