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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bear — the animal
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. rule — a law
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. net — after costs
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. current — electric
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. stock — shares
  12. current — of water
  13. rule — government
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. net — for catching
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bear — the animal
  20. current — happening now
  21. stock — goods
  22. capital — a city
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. capital — money

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