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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. present — there
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. degree — temperature
  5. clip — a video
  6. club — for golf
  7. clip — for paper
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — a group
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. clip — to cut
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. pass — a permit
  18. present — the time now
  19. degree — an amount
  20. chip — for betting
  21. degree — from a university
  22. branch — a division
  23. present — a gift
  24. branch — of a bank

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