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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. fall — to drop
  3. capital — money
  4. game — a match
  5. current — of water
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. current — electric
  10. fall — to drop
  11. current — happening now
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. clip — a video
  14. wake — a trail
  15. clip — to cut
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. rule — government
  18. fall — the season
  19. rule — a law
  20. clip — for paper
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. branch — a division
  23. game — wild animals
  24. rule — to rule out

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