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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. clip — to cut
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. clip — for paper
  7. ground — crushed
  8. present — the time now
  9. chip — for betting
  10. present — there
  11. capital — money
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. firm — steady
  14. ground — a position
  15. present — a gift
  16. lean — to bend
  17. ground — the earth
  18. lean — thin
  19. firm — decided
  20. clip — a video
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. firm — a company
  24. chip — to eat

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