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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. current — electric
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. land — ground
  10. cell — in biology
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. deal — to handle
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. cell — a phone
  15. vault — a safe
  16. current — of water
  17. land — to come down
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. land — a country
  20. current — happening now
  21. clip — to cut
  22. capital — money
  23. clip — a video
  24. capital — a city

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