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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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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. spell — letters
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mate — to breed
  6. firm — a company
  7. clip — for paper
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. branch — a division
  11. spell — magic
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. clip — to cut
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mate — a friend
  18. firm — steady
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. mate — a partner
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. clip — a video
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. kick — in football

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