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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.

Make a worksheet

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: leaves · hide · staff · wind · clip · spell · bass · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. staff — a stick
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. capital — money
  5. staff — employees
  6. spell — a short time
  7. staff — employees
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bass — low music
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. bass — the fish
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. clip — for paper
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. spell — letters
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. wind — moving air
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. clip — a video
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. spell — magic
  24. clip — to cut

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