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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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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: chip · clip · pop · shower · bear · capital · branch · plane

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. chip — for betting
  4. clip — to cut
  5. branch — a division
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. bear — the animal
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. shower — to wash
  10. capital — a city
  11. clip — a video
  12. chip — to eat
  13. pop — to visit
  14. capital — money
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pop — soda
  17. bear — the animal
  18. shower — rain
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. plane — a tool

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