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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. capital — money
  3. clip — for paper
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. suit — in cards
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. suit — clothes
  11. object — to protest
  12. suit — to fit
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. ground — a position
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. clip — to cut
  18. sharp — clever
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. object — a thing
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. clip — a video
  24. sharp — exactly

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