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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. can — a tin
  3. last — finally
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. clip — a video
  6. current — electric
  7. last — final
  8. capital — money
  9. clip — to cut
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. can — to be able to
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. current — of water
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. current — happening now
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. capital — a city
  22. stem — to come from
  23. can — a tin
  24. last — to go on

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