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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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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: capital · content · stick · spring · race · bank · clip · pitch

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. clip — to cut
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. race — humankind
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. clip — for paper
  9. spring — the season
  10. race — the arms race
  11. capital — a city
  12. bank — of a river
  13. clip — a video
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. bank — for money
  16. content — the amount
  17. spring — of water
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. capital — money
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bank — for money
  22. pitch — completely
  23. content — happy
  24. race — a contest

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