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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. clip — a video
  3. rash — hasty
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — in a race
  6. clip — to cut
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. rash — a series
  13. branch — a division
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a match

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