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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. clip — a video
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to drill
  6. capital — a city
  7. key — the most important part
  8. fall — to drop
  9. key — for a lock
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. file — a line of people
  13. fall — to drop
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fall — the season
  16. file — a tool
  17. current — of water
  18. current — electric
  19. file — a document
  20. clip — for paper
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. bore — to tire
  23. current — happening now
  24. key — in music

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