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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fan · file · pass · fork · net · bulb · clip · capital

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. capital — a city
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. clip — a video
  5. net — after costs
  6. bulb — for light
  7. net — for catching
  8. fork — in a road
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pass — a permit
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. net — in sport
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. capital — money
  17. file — a document
  18. bulb — for light
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. file — a tool
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fan — to cool the air

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