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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. march — music
  5. rule — government
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. clip — to cut
  8. fall — the season
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. march — the month
  13. plane — a tool
  14. capital — a city
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. vault — a safe
  17. rule — a law
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fall — to drop
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. capital — money
  22. clip — a video
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. march — the month

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