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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. row — a line
  4. clip — a video
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. mate — a friend
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. stand — to bear
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. fine — high quality
  14. season — of the year
  15. fine — all right
  16. season — in sport
  17. march — the month
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mate — a partner
  20. march — music
  21. row — to paddle
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. march — the month
  24. branch — a division

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