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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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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: chair · kick · suit · hide · snap · clip · stock · swing

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. swing — to play on
  3. suit — clothes
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. stock — shares
  6. suit — in cards
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. clip — a video
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. chair — a leader
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — music
  19. stock — goods
  20. clip — for paper
  21. snap — to click
  22. suit — to fit
  23. clip — to cut
  24. kick — in football

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