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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: object · wave · race · safe · clip · leaves · net · capital

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. net — for catching
  3. race — humankind
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. object — a thing
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. net — after costs
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. capital — a city
  12. object — an aim
  13. object — to protest
  14. clip — a video
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. capital — money
  20. race — a contest
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. race — the arms race
  23. clip — to cut
  24. net — in sport

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