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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 116 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. clip — to cut
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. pop — music
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. season — in sport
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. firm — a company
  13. firm — decided
  14. march — the month
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. firm — steady
  18. pop — soda
  19. pass — a permit
  20. march — the month
  21. season — of the year
  22. march — music
  23. capital — money
  24. bowl — to roll

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