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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. capital — a city
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. clip — for paper
  6. band — a music group
  7. cue — a hint
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pop — soda
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. scale — size or range
  12. cue — a signal
  13. band — a ring
  14. season — of the year
  15. pop — music
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. toast — bread
  18. clip — a video
  19. season — in sport
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. cue — for pool
  23. scale — in music
  24. band — a rubber band

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