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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: mate · clip · cap · band · swing · ground · capital · race

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. clip — for paper
  3. race — a contest
  4. cap — of ice
  5. ground — the earth
  6. swing — to play on
  7. ground — a position
  8. band — a ring
  9. clip — to cut
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cap — a lid
  12. mate — a partner
  13. capital — money
  14. race — humankind
  15. clip — a video
  16. swing — in golf
  17. cap — a hat
  18. mate — a friend
  19. race — the arms race
  20. mate — to breed
  21. capital — a city
  22. swing — music
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a rubber band

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