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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: cap · dip · mug · mate · clip · capital · tear · scale

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mate — to breed
  3. dip — to sink
  4. tear — from crying
  5. clip — a video
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. tear — to rip
  8. capital — a city
  9. clip — for paper
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. scale — size or range
  12. mug — a face
  13. mug — to rob
  14. scale — in music
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. mate — a partner
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. mate — a friend
  19. capital — money
  20. clip — to cut
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cap — a lid
  23. mug — a cup
  24. cap — a hat

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