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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. net — after costs
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. present — there
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. clip — to cut
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. present — a gift
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. bat — the animal
  14. net — for catching
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. clip — a video
  17. dip — to sink
  18. branch — a division
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — to grow
  22. net — in sport
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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