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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 116 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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. capital — a city
  3. march — the month
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. clip — to cut
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. file — a line of people
  10. board — to get on
  11. clip — a video
  12. file — a tool
  13. board — a committee
  14. march — music
  15. prune — to trim
  16. capital — money
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. clip — for paper
  22. prune — to trim
  23. file — a document
  24. march — the month

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