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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. rest — a break
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bulb — for light
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. clip — a video
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bulb — for light
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. clip — to cut
  13. fine — all right
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. cell — a phone
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fine — high quality
  18. rest — what's left

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