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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: mate · pop · capital · pitcher · trunk · track · clip · bay

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. track — to keep track
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. mate — a friend
  7. track — a path
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — soda
  11. clip — for paper
  12. capital — money
  13. track — a song
  14. clip — a video
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. mate — to breed
  20. clip — to cut
  21. capital — a city
  22. mate — a partner
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pop — to visit

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