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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. land — to come down
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. capital — money
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. land — a country
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pit — in a race
  11. snap — to click
  12. capital — a city
  13. land — ground
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — a hole
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. craft — a skill
  19. clip — a video
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — help
  22. craft — boats
  23. rush — hurry
  24. snap — to speak sharply

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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