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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. fine — all right
  4. fork — in a road
  5. clip — a video
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. clip — for paper
  8. fine — high quality
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wind — moving air
  14. capital — a city
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. chip — for betting
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. chip — to eat
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. fork — to eat with

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