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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. branch — a division
  3. bear — the animal
  4. firm — a company
  5. net — after costs
  6. chest — a box
  7. clip — a video
  8. firm — steady
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — in sport
  11. chest — of your body
  12. season — in sport
  13. clip — to cut
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. mate — a partner
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. mate — to breed
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bear — the animal
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. firm — decided
  23. season — of the year
  24. chest — of your body

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