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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. clip — a video
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. lean — thin
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. game — a match
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. dip — to sink
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. game — wild animals
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. fan — to cool the air

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