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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. tear — to rip
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. clip — to cut
  8. tube — the underground
  9. file — a line of people
  10. tube — a container
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. clip — a video
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. current — of water
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. current — happening now
  21. current — electric
  22. file — a tool
  23. capital — money
  24. file — a document

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