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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 120 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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. shower — rain
  4. field — a subject
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. clip — a video
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — a division
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. sharp — clever
  13. shower — to wash
  14. charge — electricity
  15. charge — a price
  16. wax — to grow
  17. foot — a measure
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. field — for sport
  22. clip — to cut
  23. charge — in control
  24. field — farmland

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