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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. fine — all right
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pop — soda
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. clip — a video
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. clip — to cut
  10. capital — money
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. club — a group
  14. stand — to bear
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. club — for golf
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. club — for dancing
  19. pop — to visit
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. fine — high quality
  22. bear — the animal
  23. pop — music
  24. mine — an explosive

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