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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. chest — of your body
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. net — for catching
  5. saw — the tool
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. clip — to cut
  8. chest — of your body
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bore — to drill
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. chest — a box
  15. saw — the tool
  16. net — in sport
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to tire
  20. net — after costs
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. foot — a measure
  23. branch — a division
  24. scale — in music

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