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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. clip — to cut
  3. capital — a city
  4. spell — letters
  5. bank — for money
  6. perch — the fish
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. date — the fruit
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. bank — of a river
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bank — for money
  16. capital — money
  17. spell — magic
  18. pitch — completely
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pound — a weight
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — for paper
  24. spell — a short time

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