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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. ground — the earth
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. clip — a video
  6. bound — obliged
  7. rest — what's left
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bound — certain
  12. swing — in golf
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. ground — a position
  15. rest — what's left
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. rest — a break
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. ground — crushed
  20. swing — to play on
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. bound — tied together
  23. swing — music
  24. clip — for paper

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