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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
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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: last · clip · branch · kick · pitcher · degree · present · rule

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. clip — a video
  5. last — finally
  6. degree — an amount
  7. last — final
  8. present — the time now
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. clip — for paper
  15. degree — temperature
  16. present — a gift
  17. last — to go on
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — in football
  20. rule — a law
  21. degree — from a university
  22. rule — government
  23. clip — to cut
  24. branch — of a tree

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