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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.

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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: mine · capital · can · bound · clip · saw · land · object

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. can — to be able to
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. object — an aim
  8. mine — for digging
  9. land — to come down
  10. object — to protest
  11. bound — certain
  12. clip — for paper
  13. can — a tin
  14. object — a thing
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. land — ground
  17. saw — the tool
  18. can — a tin
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. clip — a video
  21. land — a country
  22. bound — obliged
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bound — tied together

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