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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. deal — to handle
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. current — happening now
  9. saw — the tool
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. current — electric
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. lean — to bend
  18. current — of water
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pound — a weight
  21. clip — a video
  22. capital — a city
  23. lean — thin
  24. pound — for dogs

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