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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bound — obliged
  3. season — of the year
  4. clip — to cut
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. clip — for paper
  10. march — music
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. sharp — clever
  13. clip — a video
  14. object — an aim
  15. spring — of water
  16. bound — certain
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. object — a thing
  19. march — the month
  20. object — to protest
  21. march — the month
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bound — tied together
  24. sharp — exactly

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