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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. wind — moving air
  3. capital — a city
  4. game — a match
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. content — the amount
  7. clip — a video
  8. lie — to recline
  9. wind — moving air
  10. charge — a price
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. charge — electricity
  16. game — wild animals
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. clip — for paper
  19. content — happy
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. clip — to cut
  22. charge — in control
  23. saw — the tool
  24. lie — an untruth

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