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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. clip — a video
  4. branch — a division
  5. deal — to handle
  6. clip — for paper
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. drill — the tool
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. hand — help
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. drill — a practice
  14. capital — money
  15. drill — army training
  16. capital — a city
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. clip — to cut
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. date — the fruit
  24. capital — a big letter

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