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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: plane · kid · board · mug · clip · capital · snap · pound

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. snap — to click
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. mug — to rob
  6. kid — to tease
  7. clip — to cut
  8. plane — a tool
  9. mug — a cup
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. clip — a video
  15. board — a committee
  16. mug — a face
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pound — a weight
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. kid — child
  23. board — to get on
  24. capital — money

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