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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 120 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. pop — music
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. clip — for paper
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. branch — a division
  9. bore — to drill
  10. march — music
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. pop — to visit
  16. club — a group
  17. bore — to tire
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. capital — a city
  21. club — for dancing
  22. pop — soda
  23. stem — to come from
  24. capital — money

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