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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: kick · vault · clip · capital · mate · march · season · content

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  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. mate — to breed
  2. content — happy
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. capital — money
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. march — the month
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. content — the amount
  9. mate — a partner
  10. vault — a safe
  11. clip — a video
  12. capital — a city
  13. march — music
  14. season — in sport
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. clip — for paper
  17. season — of the year
  18. kick — in football
  19. mate — a friend
  20. march — the month
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. season — to add flavour
  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