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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. clip — for paper
  3. hand — help
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. can — a tin
  6. hand — in cards
  7. can — a tin
  8. clip — a video
  9. capital — a city
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. season — of the year
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. season — in sport
  14. clip — to cut
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. charge — electricity
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. can — to be able to
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — a price
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. capital — money

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