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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 124 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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. can — a tin
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. mine — for digging
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. capital — money
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. clip — a video
  13. bulb — for light
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. deal — to handle
  17. can — a tin
  18. can — to be able to
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bulb — for light
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. stand — to bear

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