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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. court — of law
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. branch — a division
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. court — for sport
  7. rule — a law
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. clip — to cut
  12. court — of a king
  13. clip — a video
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. lean — thin
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. lean — to bend
  20. rule — government
  21. fine — all right
  22. fine — high quality
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bore — to tire

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