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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. scale — size or range
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. clip — a video
  6. mate — a partner
  7. capital — money
  8. stand — to bear
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. mate — to breed
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bat — the animal
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. capital — a city
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a line
  20. clip — to cut
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. scale — in music
  24. clip — for paper

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