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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: capital · bear · clip · deal · stem · saw · squash · coach

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. squash — to crush
  3. clip — for paper
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. saw — the tool
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. squash — the sport
  9. stem — to come from
  10. deal — to handle
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. clip — to cut
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bear — the animal
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. clip — a video
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bear — the animal
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. capital — money

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