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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rock — music
  3. row — a line
  4. drill — the tool
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. branch — a division
  7. rock — a stone
  8. clip — for paper
  9. craft — boats
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. clip — a video
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. spring — a coil
  14. drill — army training
  15. stand — to bear
  16. spring — the season
  17. row — to paddle
  18. spring — of water
  19. craft — a skill
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. drill — a practice

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