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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: rest · rash · capital · lie · file · clip · bear · present

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bear — the animal
  3. present — a gift
  4. lie — to recline
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rash — hasty
  8. present — the time now
  9. rest — what's left
  10. file — a document
  11. capital — money
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. capital — a city
  16. bear — the animal
  17. rash — a series
  18. rest — a break
  19. clip — for paper
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. present — there
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. file — a tool
  24. rest — what's left

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