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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: season · perch · wave · clip · capital · rest · mark · spring

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. spring — the season
  3. mark — a grade
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. rest — what's left
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. perch — the fish
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. rest — a break
  12. clip — a video
  13. rest — what's left
  14. spring — of water
  15. season — in sport
  16. mark — a trace
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. season — of the year
  19. clip — to cut
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. clip — for paper
  24. spring — a coil

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