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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. drill — army training
  4. drill — the tool
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. file — a document
  7. clip — a video
  8. wake — a trail
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. deal — to handle
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a tool
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. snap — to click
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. clip — for paper
  20. drill — a practice
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. clip — to cut
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fan — to cool the air

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