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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: object · plane · stick · rule · court · clip · field · capital

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. object — a thing
  3. object — to protest
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. field — a subject
  6. clip — to cut
  7. court — of a king
  8. object — an aim
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. clip — a video
  12. field — farmland
  13. rule — a law
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. field — for sport
  16. court — for sport
  17. rule — government
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. plane — a tool
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. court — of law
  24. plane — in geometry

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