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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: pitch · rule · clip · wave · capital · spring

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rule — government
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — a law
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. clip — for paper
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — completely
  11. clip — to cut
  12. spring — the season
  13. clip — a video
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. spring — of water

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