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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: plane · clip · patient · straw · prune · degree · capital · leaves

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  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. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. prune — to trim
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — a video
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. plane — a tool
  8. capital — a city
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. degree — an amount
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — from a university
  15. prune — to trim
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. clip — to cut
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  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