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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. last — final
  7. swing — to play on
  8. tear — from crying
  9. last — finally
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. tear — to rip
  13. branch — a division
  14. swing — music
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. last — to go on
  19. tear — from crying
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. clip — a video
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. swing — in golf
  24. fork — in a road

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