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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. lean — thin
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. clip — for paper
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — to bend
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. branch — a division
  11. tube — the underground
  12. net — in sport
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — a container
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — for catching
  24. bowl — a football final

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