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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 116 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: clip · mug · kick · march · snap · cap · calf · bay

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. clip — a video
  3. march — the month
  4. snap — to click
  5. clip — to cut
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. cap — of ice
  8. clip — for paper
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. mug — to rob
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. mug — a face
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — in football
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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