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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: sharp · mark · clip · rash · bay · capital · saw · march

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. rash — a series
  5. mark — a trace
  6. clip — a video
  7. march — the month
  8. sharp — clever
  9. clip — for paper
  10. march — the month
  11. rash — hasty
  12. saw — the tool
  13. clip — to cut
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. capital — money
  17. mark — a grade
  18. saw — the tool
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. march — music
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. mark — to pay attention

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