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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. wake — a trail
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. file — a tool
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rest — what's left
  9. file — a document
  10. pop — to visit
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pop — soda
  16. fine — high quality
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. file — a line of people
  19. pop — music
  20. fine — all right
  21. branch — a division
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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