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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: capital · clip · firm · race · file · toast

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. firm — steady
  3. firm — a company
  4. file — a document
  5. clip — to cut
  6. race — the arms race
  7. firm — decided
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. file — a line of people
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. clip — a video
  14. file — a tool
  15. toast — bread
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. toast — the most admired

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