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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.

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: pitcher · bass · swing · bear · mug · season · capital · clip

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. season — in sport
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — to play on
  10. capital — a city
  11. season — of the year
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. swing — music
  16. mug — a cup
  17. bass — low music
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. mug — a face
  20. bear — the animal
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bear — the animal
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. mug — to rob

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