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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. capital — a city
  5. race — the arms race
  6. scale — in music
  7. clip — a video
  8. race — humankind
  9. scale — size or range
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. shower — to wash
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. race — a contest
  16. suit — clothes
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. clip — for paper
  19. shower — rain
  20. capital — money
  21. suit — to fit
  22. clip — to cut
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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