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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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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 · mug · clip · band · bore · branch · date · shower

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mug — a face
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. shower — rain
  5. clip — a video
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. capital — a city
  9. shower — to wash
  10. band — a ring
  11. bore — to drill
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. date — the fruit
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. capital — money
  18. bore — to tire
  19. branch — a division
  20. mug — to rob
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. band — a music group
  23. mug — a cup
  24. band — a rubber band

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