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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 116 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. clip — for paper
  4. board — to get on
  5. clip — to cut
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. board — a committee
  10. capital — a city
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pitch — completely
  22. capital — money
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. clip — a video

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