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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 120 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. clip — to cut
  4. branch — a division
  5. snap — to click
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. tube — a container
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. clip — for paper
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cell — a phone
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. cell — in biology
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. board — to get on
  23. tube — the underground
  24. clip — a video

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