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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. mark — a grade
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. capital — a city
  4. band — a ring
  5. mate — a friend
  6. clip — a video
  7. mark — a trace
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. capital — money
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mate — to breed
  14. cell — in biology
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. cell — a phone
  17. drill — army training
  18. mate — a partner
  19. drill — the tool
  20. band — a music group
  21. drill — a practice
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. clip — for paper
  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