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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. clip — to cut
  6. branch — a division
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a partner
  10. clip — a video
  11. wax — to grow
  12. rule — a law
  13. bat — the animal
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. rule — government
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. branch — of a bank

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