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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. clip — to cut
  3. game — wild animals
  4. spell — letters
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — money
  8. present — a gift
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. mug — a cup
  11. pitch — completely
  12. clip — a video
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. clip — for paper
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. craft — boats
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. mug — a face
  20. spell — a short time
  21. game — a match
  22. mug — to rob
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — a skill

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