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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. current — of water
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — the earth
  8. branch — a division
  9. track — to keep track
  10. clip — a video
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. track — a song
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. current — electric
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. track — a path
  17. clip — to cut
  18. capital — money
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. current — happening now
  22. ground — crushed
  23. pass — a permit
  24. stand — to bear

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