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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. plane — a tool
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. last — final
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — part of the head
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. file — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. file — a line of people
  13. last — finally
  14. capital — money
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. last — to go on
  19. face — to confront
  20. capital — a city
  21. clip — a video
  22. file — a document
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. clip — for paper

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