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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. suit — to fit
  3. kid — to tease
  4. clip — to cut
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. spell — a short time
  7. capital — a city
  8. kid — child
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. capital — money
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. clip — a video
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — to get on
  16. suit — in cards
  17. spell — magic
  18. sharp — clever
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. clip — for paper
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. suit — clothes
  23. capital — a big letter
  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