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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. capital — a city
  3. club — for dancing
  4. firm — decided
  5. club — a group
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. firm — a company
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bore — to drill
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. wound — an injury
  16. capital — money
  17. bore — to tire
  18. clip — for paper
  19. club — for golf
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. firm — steady
  22. clip — a video
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. leaves — to go away

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