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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 120 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: season · capital · band · clip · rash · lash · pit · fork

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. capital — money
  4. band — a ring
  5. pit — a hole
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. band — a music group
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pit — in a race
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. season — of the year
  14. rash — hasty
  15. capital — a city
  16. rash — a series
  17. season — in sport
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. fork — in a road

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