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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: pound · last · bear · season · cap · fan · wake · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. cap — a hat
  4. last — to go on
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pound — a weight
  9. bear — the animal
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bear — the animal
  12. last — final
  13. cap — a lid
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. clip — for paper
  16. season — of the year
  17. last — finally
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. season — in sport
  20. cap — of ice
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. clip — a video
  24. wake — a trail

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