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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. capital — a city
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. track — a song
  5. season — of the year
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. season — in sport
  8. clip — for paper
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bear — the animal
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bore — to drill
  15. clip — to cut
  16. track — a path
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. bear — the animal
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. clip — a video
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. capital — money
  24. bore — to tire

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