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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. bound — obliged
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. suit — in cards
  5. bound — certain
  6. chest — of your body
  7. last — to go on
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. wax — to grow
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — for catching
  13. clip — a video
  14. last — final
  15. chest — a box
  16. last — finally
  17. suit — to fit
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bound — tied together
  20. net — after costs
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. branch — a division
  23. suit — clothes
  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