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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. snap — to click
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. scale — size or range
  6. rock — a stone
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. current — of water
  10. saw — the tool
  11. current — happening now
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. scale — in music
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rock — music
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. saw — the tool
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. capital — a city
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. current — electric
  24. clip — to cut

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