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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 120 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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wind — moving air
  4. capital — money
  5. clip — a video
  6. present — there
  7. foot — a measure
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. present — a gift
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. clip — to cut
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. wind — moving air
  19. present — the time now
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — government
  24. capital — a city

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