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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.

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: object · craft · band · shower · clip · fall · capital · track

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. track — a path
  4. capital — a city
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. craft — a skill
  7. capital — money
  8. object — to protest
  9. fall — the season
  10. clip — a video
  11. fall — to drop
  12. object — an aim
  13. clip — for paper
  14. shower — rain
  15. track — to keep track
  16. craft — boats
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. shower — to wash
  20. object — a thing
  21. fall — to drop
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. track — a song

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