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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: bowl · capital · season · chair · suit · mug · kid · clip

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. capital — money
  3. clip — to cut
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. mug — a cup
  6. season — of the year
  7. clip — a video
  8. mug — to rob
  9. chair — a leader
  10. kid — child
  11. season — in sport
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. mug — a face
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. clip — for paper
  19. kid — to tease
  20. suit — in cards
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. suit — clothes
  24. capital — a city

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