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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. branch — a division
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bound — certain
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cell — in biology
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cell — a phone
  14. perch — the fish
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. stock — goods
  18. bound — tied together
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. stock — shares
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bound — obliged
  24. branch — of a tree

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