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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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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: bound · stick · lie · rest · clip · capital · cap · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. cap — a hat
  3. rest — a break
  4. capital — money
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — tied together
  7. lie — to recline
  8. cap — of ice
  9. clip — to cut
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. clip — a video
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bound — certain
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. clip — for paper
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. mine — for digging
  23. cap — a lid
  24. capital — a city

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