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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: clip · race · capital · lash · jam · rush · fine · field

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. field — a subject
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. capital — a city
  10. fine — high quality
  11. field — farmland
  12. fine — all right
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. race — the arms race
  16. field — for sport
  17. capital — money
  18. race — humankind
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. race — a contest
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. rush — hurry
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. clip — a video

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