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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: spell · snap · wave · chair · shower · pop · clip · capital

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pop — music
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. snap — to click
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. clip — for paper
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. capital — money
  12. shower — rain
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. shower — to wash
  15. clip — a video
  16. spell — magic
  17. pop — to visit
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — letters
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. capital — a city
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. pop — soda

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