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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: capital · game · land · clip · mark · wave

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — to come down
  3. mark — a grade
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — a video
  6. capital — a city
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. land — ground
  9. game — a match
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. game — wild animals
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. capital — money
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a trace
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. capital — a big letter

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