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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. net — in sport
  4. pass — a permit
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bound — certain
  8. capital — money
  9. bound — tied together
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bore — to drill
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. net — after costs
  14. bound — obliged
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. deal — to handle
  18. clip — to cut
  19. net — for catching
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. snap — to click

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