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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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Word bank
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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: club · rule · foot · clip · capital · object

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. object — to protest
  3. foot — a measure
  4. club — for dancing
  5. object — an aim
  6. clip — for paper
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. club — for golf
  10. clip — to cut
  11. capital — a city
  12. rule — a law
  13. club — a group
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. rule — government
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. object — a thing

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