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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · tear · clip · spring · mug · press

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mug — a cup
  3. spring — of water
  4. tear — from crying
  5. clip — to cut
  6. tear — to rip
  7. press — newspapers
  8. press — to push
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. spring — a coil
  12. capital — a city
  13. press — a publisher
  14. mug — a face
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mug — to rob
  17. clip — a video
  18. spring — the season

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