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

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. clip — to cut
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. rock — a stone
  5. track — to keep track
  6. clip — a video
  7. track — a path
  8. rock — music
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. wind — moving air
  15. capital — a city
  16. wind — moving air
  17. clip — for paper
  18. capital — money
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. track — a song
  22. foot — a measure
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. foot — the bottom

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