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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. object — to protest
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — a friend
  5. clip — a video
  6. land — ground
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. ground — the earth
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. object — a thing
  13. ground — crushed
  14. object — an aim
  15. clip — for paper
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. ground — a position
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. branch — a division
  22. clip — to cut
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. nail — for a hammer

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