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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. tube — the underground
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. clip — a video
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. tube — a container
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pass — a permit
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. content — happy
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. content — the amount
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wake — a trail
  24. clip — to cut

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