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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. clip — for paper
  3. press — newspapers
  4. mark — a grade
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. hand — in cards
  9. press — a publisher
  10. row — to paddle
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. press — to push
  15. row — a line
  16. clip — a video
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. kid — to tease
  19. hand — help
  20. mark — a trace
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. stand — to bear
  24. kid — child

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