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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: tear · clip · sharp · capital · staff · season · spell · chip

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. clip — for paper
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. clip — to cut
  9. staff — employees
  10. chip — for betting
  11. capital — money
  12. tear — to rip
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. clip — a video
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — magic
  19. season — in sport
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. spell — a short time
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. chip — to eat
  24. sharp — clever

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