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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: deal · bass · capital · chair · season · clip · lash · kick

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. capital — money
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. season — in sport
  11. bass — the fish
  12. chair — a leader
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. deal — to handle
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. kick — in football
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. clip — a video
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. season — of the year
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. capital — a city

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