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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. branch — a division
  3. clip — a video
  4. land — a country
  5. mate — to breed
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. mate — a partner
  10. cap — a hat
  11. march — the month
  12. root — the cause
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a lid
  15. clip — to cut
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. clip — for paper
  18. root — of a plant
  19. mate — a friend
  20. land — to come down
  21. march — the month
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. march — music
  24. root — of a word

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