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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: band · pound · season · bowl · pitcher · clip · mate · capital

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. capital — a city
  5. mate — to breed
  6. season — in sport
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. clip — a video
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pound — a weight
  14. band — a ring
  15. mate — a friend
  16. season — of the year
  17. mate — a partner
  18. band — a music group
  19. capital — money
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. clip — for paper

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