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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. hand — help
  3. clip — a video
  4. mug — to rob
  5. spring — a coil
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. mug — a cup
  8. capital — money
  9. spring — of water
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — in a road
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. spring — the season
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. capital — a city
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mug — a face
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. capital — a big letter

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