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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: swing · can · snap · clip · bay · mouse · sharp · cap

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. can — to be able to
  5. swing — in golf
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. snap — to click
  8. swing — to play on
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. can — a tin
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. clip — a video
  19. sharp — clever
  20. cap — of ice
  21. clip — for paper
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. swing — music

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