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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. capital — money
  3. clip — a video
  4. degree — from a university
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pass — a permit
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. rash — a series
  10. degree — an amount
  11. capital — a city
  12. present — a gift
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. toast — bread
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. branch — a division
  17. present — there
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — hasty
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. degree — temperature
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pass — to spend time

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