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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. spell — a short time
  3. clip — a video
  4. spell — magic
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. firm — a company
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. spell — letters
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. firm — decided
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. capital — a city
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. branch — a division
  18. firm — steady
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pound — a weight
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. hide — to keep secret

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