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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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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: mate · cap · capital · clip · bear · bowl · straw · wax

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — to grow
  16. mate — to breed
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. mate — a partner
  21. cap — of ice
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. cap — a lid

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