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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 · saw · tear · rule · clip · scale · mark · nail

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. rule — a law
  5. mark — a grade
  6. scale — in music
  7. clip — for paper
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. clip — a video
  10. tear — from crying
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rule — government
  13. capital — money
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. tear — to rip
  16. scale — size or range
  17. clip — to cut
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. saw — the tool
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. mark — a trace
  24. capital — a big letter

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