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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · spell · capital · bat · chair · temple

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. clip — a video
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. capital — money
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. clip — to cut
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. capital — a city
  14. spell — magic
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. spell — letters
  18. chair — a leader

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