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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. clip — a video
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — to get on
  7. bear — the animal
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. wind — moving air
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. clip — to cut
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bat — the animal
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bat — for baseball

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