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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. saw — the tool
  3. capital — money
  4. can — to be able to
  5. bound — certain
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. court — for sport
  9. bound — obliged
  10. can — a tin
  11. clip — to cut
  12. capital — a city
  13. can — a tin
  14. court — of a king
  15. press — a publisher
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bound — tied together
  18. press — to push
  19. court — of law
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. saw — the tool
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a music group
  24. press — newspapers

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