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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 116 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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. season — of the year
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. clip — to cut
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. chair — a leader
  8. clip — a video
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. present — there
  12. capital — a city
  13. branch — a division
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. deal — to handle
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — a gift
  21. season — in sport
  22. clip — for paper
  23. capital — money
  24. chair — to sit on

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