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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 116 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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mark — a grade
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. present — a gift
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. object — a thing
  9. cell — a phone
  10. object — to protest
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. present — the time now
  13. key — in music
  14. clip — for paper
  15. present — there
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. clip — a video
  18. key — for a lock
  19. prune — to trim
  20. key — the most important part
  21. cell — in biology
  22. object — an aim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. branch — a division

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