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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 116 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. pop — soda
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. capital — a city
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. march — the month
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. march — music
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pit — in a race
  13. cap — of ice
  14. clip — a video
  15. plane — a tool
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. clip — to cut
  18. march — the month
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. clip — for paper
  23. cap — a hat
  24. pop — music

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