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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 124 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. object — a thing
  3. capital — a city
  4. clip — to cut
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. perch — the fish
  8. clip — a video
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. clip — for paper
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. object — to protest
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. snap — to click
  16. object — an aim
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. file — a line of people
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. rule — a law
  24. rule — government

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