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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.

Make a worksheet

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: clip · capital · band · mouse · content · fan · temple · field

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. content — the amount
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. content — happy
  7. field — farmland
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. capital — a city
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. clip — a video
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. field — for sport
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. capital — money
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. band — a ring
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. clip — for paper
  23. band — a music group
  24. field — a subject

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