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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 116 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: rule · file · object · capital · snap · clip

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. clip — for paper
  3. object — an aim
  4. object — a thing
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a document
  7. object — to protest
  8. clip — to cut
  9. snap — to click
  10. clip — a video
  11. rule — government
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rule — a law
  15. file — a tool
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. rule — to rule out

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