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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: last · fan · rock · season · bank · capital · clip · cabinet

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. last — to go on
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. clip — a video
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bank — of a river
  10. rock — a stone
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. rock — music
  13. bank — for money
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bank — for money
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. clip — for paper
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. last — final
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. season — of the year
  24. last — finally

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