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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: kick · hide · march · file · capital · clip · plane · can

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. kick — in football
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a city
  6. file — a document
  7. march — the month
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. file — a tool
  10. march — the month
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. can — a tin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. clip — for paper
  15. file — a line of people
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. clip — a video
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. plane — a tool
  21. march — music
  22. clip — to cut
  23. can — a tin
  24. hide — animal skin

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