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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. field — a subject
  3. clip — to cut
  4. firm — decided
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — in football
  8. clip — a video
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fine — all right
  13. march — the month
  14. bear — the animal
  15. firm — steady
  16. clip — for paper
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. fine — high quality
  19. bear — the animal
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. firm — a company
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — farmland

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