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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. clip — a video
  3. mate — a partner
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. mate — a friend
  6. net — after costs
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mate — to breed
  9. clip — to cut
  10. net — for catching
  11. drill — army training
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. capital — a city
  15. stem — to come from
  16. net — in sport
  17. drill — a practice
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. clip — for paper
  23. capital — money
  24. pass — a permit

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