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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. saw — the tool
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bark — to shout
  12. saw — the tool
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. season — of the year
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — to recline
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. branch — a division
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — money

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