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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: capital · lean · ground · stick · saw · file · clip · charge

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. charge — electricity
  3. lean — to bend
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. capital — money
  6. clip — a video
  7. lean — thin
  8. file — a line of people
  9. charge — in control
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. file — a tool
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. file — a document
  14. charge — a price
  15. ground — crushed
  16. clip — for paper
  17. ground — the earth
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. saw — the tool
  22. ground — a position
  23. saw — the tool
  24. capital — a city

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