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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: plane · perch · clip · snap · content · capital · last · pitcher

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. last — to go on
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. clip — a video
  8. perch — the fish
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. capital — a city
  11. plane — a tool
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. capital — money
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. content — the amount
  20. clip — to cut
  21. last — final
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. last — finally

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