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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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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: key · clip · sharp · wind · rest · dip · rule · capital

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  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. dip — to dunk
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. clip — a video
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. wind — moving air
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. rest — a break
  11. rule — a law
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a city
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. sharp — clever
  19. wind — moving air
  20. key — in music
  21. dip — to sink
  22. key — for a lock
  23. key — the most important part
  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