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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 124 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. content — happy
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. content — the amount
  6. spring — a coil
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. branch — a division
  10. spring — of water
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. spring — the season
  14. chair — a leader
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. board — a committee
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. clip — to cut
  20. stem — to come from
  21. board — to get on
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. branch — of a tree
  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