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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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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. rule — a law
  4. can — a tin
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. rule — government
  11. capital — money
  12. rush — hurry
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. clip — a video
  15. can — to be able to
  16. land — a country
  17. vault — a safe
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. can — a tin
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. capital — a city
  22. land — to come down
  23. clip — to cut
  24. land — ground

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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