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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. staff — employees
  3. content — happy
  4. club — a group
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. club — for golf
  7. club — for dancing
  8. capital — money
  9. clip — to cut
  10. current — of water
  11. mate — a friend
  12. clip — a video
  13. mate — a partner
  14. content — the amount
  15. branch — a division
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. current — happening now
  18. staff — a stick
  19. mate — to breed
  20. clip — for paper
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — a city
  23. staff — employees
  24. current — electric

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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