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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: capital · march · suit · arm · clip · snap · rock · racket

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. snap — to click
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. clip — to cut
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. rock — music
  8. clip — a video
  9. march — the month
  10. clip — for paper
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. march — music
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. march — the month
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. suit — to fit
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. capital — money
  20. suit — in cards
  21. rock — a stone
  22. capital — a city
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. suit — clothes

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