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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. clip — to cut
  3. branch — a division
  4. clip — a video
  5. rule — government
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. hand — help
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rule — a law
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. hand — in cards
  19. land — a country
  20. scale — in music
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. rush — hurry
  23. scale — size or range
  24. mark — a grade

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