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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: scale · season · kid · clip · capital · club · ruler · cap

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. capital — a city
  6. club — a group
  7. cap — a lid
  8. season — in sport
  9. clip — for paper
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cap — of ice
  12. club — for golf
  13. clip — to cut
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. kid — child
  16. cap — a hat
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — in music
  19. club — for dancing
  20. clip — a video
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. season — of the year
  24. scale — size or range

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