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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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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: straw · clip · capital · leaves · pit · file · ground · cabinet

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. clip — to cut
  3. capital — a city
  4. clip — a video
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. ground — crushed
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. capital — money
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — in a race
  12. file — a tool
  13. ground — the earth
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. file — a document
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. file — a line of people
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. ground — a position

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