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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 · degree · toast · object · clip · club

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. object — an aim
  3. degree — temperature
  4. capital — a city
  5. toast — bread
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. club — for golf
  10. club — for dancing
  11. object — a thing
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. capital — money
  15. object — to protest
  16. club — a group
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. toast — a drink to someone

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