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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. march — the month
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. stock — goods
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. mate — to breed
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wound — an injury
  14. capital — money
  15. mate — a friend
  16. lean — to bend
  17. stock — shares
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. fall — the season
  20. lean — thin
  21. fall — to drop
  22. capital — a city
  23. mate — a partner
  24. clip — for paper

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