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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. capital — a city
  4. branch — a division
  5. club — a group
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bore — to drill
  8. fall — the season
  9. clip — for paper
  10. capital — money
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. season — of the year
  13. fall — to drop
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fall — to drop
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — for dancing
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — in sport
  21. rock — a stone
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. rock — to move gently

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