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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. firm — a company
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cell — a phone
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. band — a ring
  7. firm — steady
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. mark — a grade
  11. bear — the animal
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bear — the animal
  15. band — a music group
  16. branch — a division
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. cell — in biology
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. clip — a video
  23. firm — decided
  24. mark — a trace

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