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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. clip — to cut
  3. capital — a city
  4. clip — for paper
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. pit — in a race
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — the amount
  13. pit — a hole
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. capital — money
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. clip — a video

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