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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. lean — thin
  4. staff — a stick
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. rule — a law
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. clip — to cut
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. staff — employees
  11. capital — money
  12. clip — a video
  13. rest — a break
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. staff — employees
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. rest — what's left
  19. clip — for paper
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. lean — to bend
  22. rest — what's left
  23. stand — to bear
  24. rule — government

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