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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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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: race · capital · bank · fork · clip · rock · prune · file

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. race — the arms race
  6. prune — to trim
  7. clip — for paper
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. race — humankind
  10. bank — of a river
  11. fork — in a road
  12. file — a document
  13. clip — a video
  14. capital — money
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rock — music
  17. file — a tool
  18. prune — to trim
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bank — for money
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. bank — for money
  24. capital — a city

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