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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. firm — steady
  3. clip — to cut
  4. sharp — clever
  5. capital — money
  6. suit — in cards
  7. fork — in a road
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. firm — a company
  14. drill — a practice
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — the tool
  18. capital — a city
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. land — ground
  21. firm — decided
  22. land — to come down
  23. suit — clothes
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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