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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. mug — to rob
  3. mug — a cup
  4. clip — for paper
  5. capital — a city
  6. clip — a video
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. craft — boats
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. key — in music
  11. clip — to cut
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. key — the most important part
  14. key — for a lock
  15. wind — moving air
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. mug — a face
  18. snap — to click
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. capital — money
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. craft — a skill

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