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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. board — to get on
  3. rule — a law
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. field — a subject
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. field — farmland
  9. capital — money
  10. clip — a video
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. field — for sport
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. lean — to bend
  19. rule — government
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. board — a committee
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. clip — for paper

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