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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: pass · staff · hide · coach · rest · degree · clip · capital

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. staff — employees
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. clip — a video
  8. rest — a break
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. degree — an amount
  11. capital — money
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. rest — what's left
  14. degree — temperature
  15. staff — employees
  16. capital — a city
  17. rest — what's left
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pass — a permit
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. staff — a stick
  23. degree — from a university
  24. clip — to cut

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