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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. clip — to cut
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. branch — a division
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. net — after costs
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wake — a trail
  9. cold — an illness
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. cold — not warm
  12. key — in music
  13. net — for catching
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. key — for a lock
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. key — the most important part
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. fan — a supporter

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