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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. board — to get on
  3. pitch — completely
  4. club — a group
  5. current — happening now
  6. club — for dancing
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. clip — for paper
  10. current — of water
  11. rest — a break
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — money
  16. current — electric
  17. rest — what's left
  18. club — for golf
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. clip — a video
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. board — a committee
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. clip — to cut

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