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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 covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. wake — a trail
  3. ground — a position
  4. charge — in control
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fork — in a road
  8. capital — a city
  9. clip — to cut
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. clip — a video
  13. stand — to bear
  14. fall — to drop
  15. clip — for paper
  16. fall — the season
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. charge — electricity
  21. ground — crushed
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. charge — a price

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