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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: lean · clip · drill · mate · squash · present · bear · capital

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. present — there
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. mate — to breed
  8. drill — the tool
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bear — the animal
  11. squash — to crush
  12. drill — a practice
  13. present — the time now
  14. bear — the animal
  15. lean — to bend
  16. capital — a city
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. present — a gift
  20. mate — a partner
  21. lean — thin
  22. drill — army training
  23. squash — the sport
  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