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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. clip — to cut
  3. lie — to recline
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. clip — for paper
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. mine — for digging
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. clip — a video
  13. branch — a division
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. pass — a permit
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. capital — money
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. dip — to sink
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. capital — a city

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