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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.

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: file · tube · pitch · hand · capital · clip · wave · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. pitch — completely
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. file — a document
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. file — a tool
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. lean — to bend
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. hand — in cards
  19. lean — thin
  20. clip — a video
  21. hand — help
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — the underground

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