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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. track — a path
  3. wound — an injury
  4. kick — in football
  5. spell — a short time
  6. present — the time now
  7. spell — letters
  8. present — there
  9. mate — a partner
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. track — to keep track
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wound — an injury
  14. present — a gift
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. clip — for paper
  19. track — a song
  20. mate — to breed
  21. branch — a division
  22. clip — a video
  23. mate — a friend
  24. branch — of a bank

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