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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. field — for sport
  4. capital — money
  5. field — farmland
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bear — the animal
  8. saw — the tool
  9. clip — a video
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. capital — a city
  14. chip — for betting
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bear — the animal
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. field — a subject
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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