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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. clip — a video
  3. capital — a city
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. tube — a container
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stand — to bear
  10. mate — a partner
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. march — the month
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. march — the month
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. capital — money
  20. mate — to breed
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. march — music
  24. mate — a friend

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