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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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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: capital · branch · lean · kid · tear · clip · rush · present

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. clip — for paper
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. tear — from crying
  5. lean — to bend
  6. kid — to tease
  7. capital — money
  8. present — there
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. tear — to rip
  13. present — the time now
  14. capital — a city
  15. clip — a video
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rush — hurry
  19. present — a gift
  20. kid — child
  21. branch — a division
  22. clip — to cut
  23. lean — thin
  24. rush — a thrill

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