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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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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: clip · wax · charge · last · kick · net · capital · nail

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. clip — a video
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. charge — electricity
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. capital — money
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. charge — in control
  9. net — after costs
  10. kick — in football
  11. last — finally
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. net — for catching
  14. charge — a price
  15. net — in sport
  16. last — to go on
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. clip — for paper
  21. last — final
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wax — to grow
  24. capital — a city

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