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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. capital — money
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. present — the time now
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. net — in sport
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. rush — hurry
  10. present — there
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — for catching
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. present — a gift
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. clip — to cut
  24. capital — a city

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