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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. shower — rain
  5. spell — magic
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. clip — to cut
  9. craft — a skill
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pitch — completely
  12. craft — boats
  13. clip — a video
  14. object — an aim
  15. object — a thing
  16. object — to protest
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. clip — for paper
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — a short time
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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