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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: stand · chair · rest · racket · clip · cap · capital · net

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. net — for catching
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cap — a lid
  5. net — after costs
  6. rest — what's left
  7. stand — to bear
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a hat
  13. clip — a video
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. capital — a city
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. chair — a leader
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. net — in sport
  24. capital — money

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