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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mate — a friend
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bore — to tire
  11. board — a committee
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. capital — money
  14. lean — to bend
  15. clip — a video
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. board — to get on
  18. mate — to breed
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bore — to drill
  21. mate — a partner
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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