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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. clip — a video
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. clip — for paper
  6. capital — money
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. capital — a city
  9. band — a ring
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. swing — music
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. clip — to cut
  17. swing — in golf
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. cap — a lid
  20. band — a music group
  21. cap — a hat
  22. swing — to play on
  23. branch — a division
  24. cap — of ice

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