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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · game · bass · safe · prune · date · clip · hide

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. capital — a city
  5. clip — for paper
  6. prune — to trim
  7. clip — a video
  8. date — the fruit
  9. game — wild animals
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. prune — to trim
  19. capital — money
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. clip — to cut
  22. game — a match
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bass — the fish

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