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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  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 — money
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. suit — clothes
  5. clip — to cut
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. clip — for paper
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. key — the most important part
  10. mug — to rob
  11. clip — a video
  12. capital — a city
  13. kid — to tease
  14. suit — in cards
  15. suit — to fit
  16. bark — to shout
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mug — a cup
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. wind — moving air
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — in music
  23. mug — a face
  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