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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: march · clip · safe · dip · rush · arm · band · capital

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. march — music
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. march — the month
  5. rush — hurry
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. band — a ring
  12. march — the month
  13. dip — to sink
  14. capital — a city
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. clip — for paper
  19. band — a music group
  20. capital — money
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — a video
  24. dip — to dunk

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