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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: mark · clip · file · bore · capital · suit · wind · craft

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. craft — a skill
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wind — moving air
  5. file — a line of people
  6. suit — to fit
  7. craft — boats
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — to drill
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. capital — money
  14. mark — a grade
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a tool
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. suit — in cards
  20. capital — a city
  21. mark — a trace
  22. wind — moving air
  23. suit — clothes
  24. craft — a handicraft

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