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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. kid — child
  3. capital — money
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. club — for dancing
  6. clip — to cut
  7. drill — army training
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. drill — a practice
  11. capital — a city
  12. club — for golf
  13. rock — a stone
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. clip — a video
  16. kid — to tease
  17. rock — music
  18. drill — the tool
  19. fine — all right
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. club — a group
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. fine — high quality

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