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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. current — happening now
  3. capital — a city
  4. clip — for paper
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. key — in music
  7. bark — to shout
  8. pit — a hole
  9. current — of water
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. key — for a lock
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. key — the most important part
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. pit — in a race
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — to cut
  23. current — electric
  24. leaves — of a tree

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