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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: season · mine · rush · lean · last · cap · clip · racket

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. rush — hurry
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. cap — of ice
  9. lean — to bend
  10. clip — for paper
  11. season — of the year
  12. mine — for digging
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. last — finally
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. lean — thin
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cap — a hat
  24. season — in sport

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