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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.

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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: rule · stick · cabinet · clip · capital · tear · trunk · wake

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. tear — to rip
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rule — a law
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. capital — a city
  11. clip — to cut
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. tear — from crying
  14. capital — money
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. rule — government
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. tear — from crying
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. wake — a trail
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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