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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 120 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. clip — to cut
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. clip — a video
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a line
  13. capital — a city
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. spring — of water
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. file — a document
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pass — a permit
  21. spring — a coil
  22. capital — money
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. ruler — for measuring

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