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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bank — for money
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. kid — child
  9. capital — money
  10. kid — to tease
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. swing — in golf
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. swing — music
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. branch — a division
  19. clip — to cut
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bank — for money
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fan — a supporter

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