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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: mug · mine · clip · capital · mate · perch · jam · rest

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. mate — a friend
  3. capital — a city
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. clip — a video
  6. mate — to breed
  7. rest — what's left
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. clip — to cut
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — money
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mate — a partner
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mug — a cup
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rest — a break
  21. mug — a face
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rest — what's left

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