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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. rush — hurry
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. capital — a city
  9. rest — what's left
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mark — a grade
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rest — a break
  19. deal — to handle
  20. capital — money
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. clip — a video
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. mark — a trace

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