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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 116 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: clip · content · ball · cell · lash · capital · mark · cue

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. capital — a city
  3. cue — for pool
  4. ball — a great time
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. ball — a dance
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mark — a trace
  9. mark — a grade
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. cue — a signal
  12. clip — to cut
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cue — a hint
  18. content — happy
  19. capital — money
  20. clip — a video
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. content — the amount
  24. clip — for paper

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