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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. clip — a video
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. branch — a division
  5. plane — a tool
  6. object — a thing
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. object — to protest
  9. game — a match
  10. clip — to cut
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. game — wild animals
  13. clip — for paper
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. court — of law
  19. court — of a king
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. court — for sport

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