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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 120 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. net — for catching
  5. bass — the fish
  6. clip — a video
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. net — in sport
  10. branch — a division
  11. vault — a safe
  12. net — after costs
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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