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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: wound · capital · clip · charge · pass · rest · march · pitch

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. march — music
  3. clip — for paper
  4. charge — electricity
  5. charge — a price
  6. capital — a city
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. rest — a break
  9. charge — in control
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. capital — money
  12. pass — a permit
  13. clip — a video
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. march — the month
  19. pitch — completely
  20. rest — what's left
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. march — the month

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