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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  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. lean — thin
  2. clip — a video
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. fork — in a road
  8. lean — to bend
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. clip — to cut
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — hurry
  16. drill — the tool
  17. capital — a city
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — army training
  20. capital — money
  21. game — a match
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  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