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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: snap · present · club · bound · capital · lean · hide · clip

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. present — a gift
  3. clip — to cut
  4. capital — money
  5. lean — to bend
  6. snap — to click
  7. capital — a city
  8. clip — for paper
  9. present — there
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. clip — a video
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. club — for golf
  14. bound — tied together
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bound — certain
  19. club — a group
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. lean — thin
  23. bound — obliged
  24. club — for dancing

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