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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: court · lie · chest · can · snap · capital · clip · rock

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. can — a tin
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. court — for sport
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. lie — to recline
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. rock — a stone
  15. chest — a box
  16. capital — money
  17. court — of a king
  18. rock — music
  19. snap — to click
  20. clip — a video
  21. can — to be able to
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. court — of law
  24. can — a tin

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