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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
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: chest · march · craft · clip · capital · safe

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. craft — boats
  3. chest — of your body
  4. march — the month
  5. capital — a city
  6. clip — for paper
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. craft — a skill
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. clip — to cut
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. capital — money

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