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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kid · hide · bass · season · suit · mark · capital · clip

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. season — of the year
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bass — low music
  8. mark — a trace
  9. kid — child
  10. clip — a video
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. mark — a grade
  14. suit — clothes
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. bass — the fish
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. suit — in cards
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — in sport
  23. capital — a city
  24. suit — to fit

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