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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 120 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: dip · kick · capital · clip · charge · sharp · club · present

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. club — for golf
  4. capital — a city
  5. clip — a video
  6. sharp — clever
  7. club — a group
  8. charge — a price
  9. charge — electricity
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. clip — for paper
  12. dip — to sink
  13. present — the time now
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. charge — in control
  18. club — for dancing
  19. present — a gift
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. capital — money
  24. clip — to cut

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