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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. wound — an injury
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. staff — employees
  7. saw — the tool
  8. staff — employees
  9. mark — a trace
  10. saw — the tool
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. clip — a video
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — a subject
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. field — for sport
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. mark — a grade
  23. clip — to cut
  24. staff — a stick

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