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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. clip — to cut
  3. capital — money
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. saw — the tool
  6. clip — for paper
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. track — a song
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. track — to keep track
  13. rush — hurry
  14. capital — a city
  15. cold — not warm
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cold — an illness
  19. track — a path
  20. deal — to handle
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. clip — a video

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