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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. capital — a city
  3. mug — to rob
  4. season — of the year
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bear — the animal
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. bear — the animal
  10. clip — for paper
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mug — a cup
  14. season — in sport
  15. prune — to trim
  16. mug — a face
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. prune — to trim
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. clip — a video
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. capital — money
  23. wound — an injury
  24. prune — the fruit

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