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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.

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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: press · capital · mug · clip · dip · wound · content · spell

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. clip — a video
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — happy
  6. capital — money
  7. mug — to rob
  8. press — to push
  9. mug — a cup
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wound — an injury
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. spell — magic
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. mug — a face
  16. press — a publisher
  17. wound — an injury
  18. capital — a city
  19. spell — a short time
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. spell — letters
  22. dip — to sink
  23. press — newspapers
  24. clip — for paper

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