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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: season · band · stick · squash · cap · chip · kick · clip

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. clip — to cut
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — of the year
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. season — in sport
  13. squash — the sport
  14. chip — for betting
  15. clip — for paper
  16. kick — in football
  17. cap — of ice
  18. clip — a video
  19. squash — to crush
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — to eat
  23. cap — a hat
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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