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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. clip — a video
  4. face — to point toward
  5. can — a tin
  6. capital — a city
  7. pop — music
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. pop — to visit
  11. clip — to cut
  12. face — to confront
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. kick — in football
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pop — soda
  18. capital — money
  19. can — a tin
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. race — a contest
  23. face — part of the head
  24. can — to be able to

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