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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pop — soda
  3. wound — an injury
  4. capital — money
  5. pop — to visit
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. clip — a video
  10. season — in sport
  11. bear — the animal
  12. season — of the year
  13. pop — music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. key — the most important part
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. key — in music
  21. key — for a lock
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. pitch — completely

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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