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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rule — government
  3. bank — for money
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. fall — to drop
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. fall — the season
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a skill
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. branch — a division
  15. clip — a video
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bank — of a river
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. fall — to drop
  20. rule — a law
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. bank — for money
  24. clip — for paper

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