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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pop · last · mark · racket · capital · mouse · clip · rest

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. pop — soda
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. rest — what's left
  8. capital — money
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. mark — a trace
  11. capital — a city
  12. clip — to cut
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. last — final
  16. pop — to visit
  17. rest — a break
  18. pop — music
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. rest — what's left
  21. last — to go on
  22. mark — a grade
  23. clip — a video
  24. last — finally

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