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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — for paper
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. capital — a city
  7. tube — a container
  8. hand — in cards
  9. spell — letters
  10. clip — a video
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. spell — a short time
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. craft — boats
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. foot — a measure
  19. spell — magic
  20. craft — a skill
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. hand — help
  24. mouse — for a computer

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