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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. last — final
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. last — finally
  6. saw — the tool
  7. clip — a video
  8. capital — a city
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. clip — for paper
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. lean — thin
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. last — to go on
  18. saw — the tool
  19. lean — to bend
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. clip — to cut
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hand — help

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