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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. firm — a company
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. clip — for paper
  6. spell — letters
  7. can — a tin
  8. spell — magic
  9. clip — to cut
  10. present — the time now
  11. pop — to visit
  12. present — there
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. pop — music
  15. firm — decided
  16. clip — a video
  17. present — a gift
  18. capital — money
  19. can — a tin
  20. capital — a city
  21. spell — a short time
  22. firm — steady
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pop — soda

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