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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. capital — a city
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mate — to breed
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. shower — rain
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mark — a grade
  18. rush — hurry
  19. mate — a partner
  20. clip — for paper
  21. shower — to wash
  22. snap — to click
  23. clip — a video
  24. mark — a trace

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