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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: clip · tear · toast · capital · cap · season

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. clip — to cut
  3. cap — a hat
  4. tear — to rip
  5. clip — for paper
  6. capital — a city
  7. tear — from crying
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. cap — a lid
  10. tear — from crying
  11. clip — a video
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. cap — of ice
  14. capital — money
  15. toast — bread
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. toast — the most admired

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