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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. file — a tool
  3. clip — for paper
  4. capital — a city
  5. cell — a phone
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. clip — a video
  8. file — a document
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. capital — money
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — a weight
  24. clip — to cut

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