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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — music
  5. clip — a video
  6. suit — clothes
  7. bound — tied together
  8. suit — in cards
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. branch — a division
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. shower — to wash
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bound — certain
  20. shower — rain
  21. suit — to fit
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bound — obliged
  24. clip — for paper

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