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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: wound · ruler · sharp · clip · fan · charge · present · capital

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. wound — an injury
  3. present — the time now
  4. clip — a video
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. charge — electricity
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — there
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. clip — to cut
  20. sharp — clever
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. charge — a price
  23. charge — in control
  24. ruler — for measuring

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