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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  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. branch — of a bank
  2. chip — to eat
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — the animal
  6. tear — to rip
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. deal — to handle
  9. march — music
  10. clip — for paper
  11. tear — from crying
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. branch — a division
  15. tear — from crying
  16. clip — to cut
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. chip — for betting
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. racket — for tennis
  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