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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. rest — what's left
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. cell — a phone
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. dip — to sink
  10. rest — what's left
  11. land — ground
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. rest — a break
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. cell — in biology
  23. clip — for paper
  24. cell — in a prison

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