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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. clip — to cut
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. chair — a leader
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. capital — a city
  7. rule — a law
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rule — government
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to click
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. capital — money
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. last — finally
  18. last — to go on
  19. wind — moving air
  20. last — final
  21. clip — a video
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. foot — a measure
  24. wind — to turn a key

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