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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 chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. clip — to cut
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bark — to shout
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. branch — a division
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. cold — an illness
  19. drill — army training
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. drill — a practice

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