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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: object · band · bound · key · capital · clip · swing · press

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — in music
  4. clip — a video
  5. band — a ring
  6. object — to protest
  7. swing — in golf
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. band — a music group
  11. object — an aim
  12. capital — a city
  13. swing — music
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — certain
  19. press — to push
  20. swing — to play on
  21. press — a publisher
  22. key — the most important part
  23. press — newspapers
  24. object — a thing

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