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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 124 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. prune — to trim
  3. clip — for paper
  4. capital — money
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. clip — to cut
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. charge — electricity
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. band — a ring
  12. charge — a price
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. charge — in control
  15. clip — a video
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. capital — a city
  18. mark — a trace
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. rush — hurry
  24. band — a music group

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