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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: clip · face · ground · capital · file · suit · wind · fine

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. capital — a city
  4. suit — to fit
  5. file — a tool
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. file — a document
  8. ground — crushed
  9. face — part of the head
  10. clip — for paper
  11. file — a line of people
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — high quality
  14. wind — moving air
  15. face — to point toward
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. ground — a position
  19. clip — to cut
  20. suit — clothes
  21. suit — in cards
  22. ground — the earth
  23. wind — moving air
  24. face — to confront

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