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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 120 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. clip — a video
  3. capital — money
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. last — finally
  7. clip — to cut
  8. last — final
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. track — a path
  11. lie — to recline
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. last — to go on
  14. clip — for paper
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — the season
  18. track — to keep track
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. track — a song
  23. capital — a city
  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