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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fine · clip · mine · wound · firm · bark · rule · capital

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. fine — all right
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fine — high quality
  8. capital — money
  9. rule — a law
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rule — government
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. mine — for digging
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. firm — decided
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bark — to shout
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. clip — a video
  21. firm — steady
  22. clip — to cut
  23. capital — a city
  24. firm — a company

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