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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. spell — magic
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rest — what's left
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. clip — a video
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. clip — for paper
  9. current — electric
  10. rest — a break
  11. spell — letters
  12. track — a song
  13. track — to keep track
  14. current — of water
  15. clip — to cut
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. current — happening now
  19. spell — a short time
  20. stand — to bear
  21. branch — a division
  22. rest — what's left
  23. track — a path
  24. stand — on your feet

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