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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. clip — a video
  2. branch — a division
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. rule — government
  5. land — ground
  6. bank — for money
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. capital — a city
  11. bank — of a river
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. rule — a law
  14. shower — rain
  15. bank — for money
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. land — to come down
  18. shower — to wash
  19. land — a country
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. capital — money
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. straw — dry grass
  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