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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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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: wind · press · clip · capital · branch · patient · chip · race

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. 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. branch — of a bank
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. chip — to eat
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. clip — to cut
  6. race — humankind
  7. capital — a city
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chip — for betting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. press — to push
  13. press — newspapers
  14. race — the arms race
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wind — moving air
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. branch — a division
  21. race — a contest
  22. press — a publisher
  23. clip — a video
  24. capital — money

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