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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: branch · capital · clip · fork · hide · ruler

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. clip — a video
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. clip — for paper
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. branch — a division
  9. clip — to cut
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. fork — in a road
  18. capital — money

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