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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. clip — for paper
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. clip — a video
  5. capital — a city
  6. clip — to cut
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. present — there
  11. snap — to click
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. content — happy
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. last — final
  16. present — a gift
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. present — the time now
  19. capital — money
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. branch — a division
  23. sharp — clever
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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