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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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. rush — hurry
  4. bound — obliged
  5. staff — a stick
  6. bound — certain
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bound — tied together
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. staff — employees
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. degree — temperature
  15. clip — a video
  16. degree — from a university
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. degree — an amount
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. branch — a division
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. staff — employees
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. clip — to cut

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