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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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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: dip · capital · jam · charge · staff · bear · last · clip

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. staff — employees
  3. clip — to cut
  4. charge — in control
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. dip — to sink
  10. clip — a video
  11. capital — money
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. capital — a city
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. staff — employees
  19. charge — a price
  20. last — finally
  21. staff — a stick
  22. last — final
  23. charge — electricity
  24. last — to go on

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