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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. capital — money
  3. file — a tool
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. mark — a grade
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mark — a trace
  8. file — a document
  9. capital — a city
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. march — music
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. firm — decided
  14. march — the month
  15. file — a line of people
  16. clip — a video
  17. march — the month
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. clip — for paper
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. firm — steady
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — a supporter

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