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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: clip · tear · toast · capital · cap · season · sharp · vault

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. clip — to cut
  3. tear — from crying
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. clip — a video
  6. vault — a safe
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. tear — to rip
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. tear — from crying
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a hat
  16. toast — bread
  17. clip — for paper
  18. season — of the year
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. season — in sport
  21. capital — a city
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. sharp — clever
  24. capital — money

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