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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 116 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: capital · club · lean · saw · mark · clip · hand · fall

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. clip — to cut
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. clip — a video
  6. fall — the season
  7. lean — to bend
  8. fall — to drop
  9. club — for golf
  10. club — a group
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. club — for dancing
  15. capital — money
  16. mark — a grade
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. capital — a city
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. clip — for paper
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mark — a trace
  24. saw — the tool

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