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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 116 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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. branch — a division
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wound — an injury
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — a video
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. hand — help
  11. band — a music group
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. band — a ring
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. hand — in cards
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. capital — a city
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. capital — money
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. ruler — a monarch

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