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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.

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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  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. capital — money
  2. swing — music
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. rule — government
  7. wound — an injury
  8. present — a gift
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. clip — a video
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. swing — to play on
  13. mark — a grade
  14. rule — a law
  15. present — the time now
  16. swing — in golf
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. capital — a city
  20. mark — a trace
  21. clip — to cut
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. present — there
  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