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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 116 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: track · sharp · clip · capital · content · rest · rush · club

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. club — for golf
  4. content — happy
  5. club — a group
  6. rest — what's left
  7. content — the amount
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rest — a break
  10. capital — money
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. track — a path
  13. capital — a city
  14. sharp — clever
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. track — a song
  17. track — to keep track
  18. club — for dancing
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. clip — a video
  21. rest — what's left
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rush — to hurry

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