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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. file — a tool
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. file — a line of people
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. current — electric
  10. mate — a friend
  11. capital — a city
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. current — of water
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mate — a partner
  16. current — happening now
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. clip — a video
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. clip — to cut
  22. file — a document
  23. capital — money
  24. ruler — for measuring

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