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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: capital · chair · mine · season · bear · rash · temple · clip

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. mine — for digging
  3. rash — hasty
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bear — the animal
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. season — of the year
  10. chair — a leader
  11. capital — money
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. bear — the animal
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. capital — a city
  24. rash — a series

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