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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. branch — a division
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. lie — to recline
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wind — moving air
  9. spell — magic
  10. can — a tin
  11. spell — a short time
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. spell — letters
  15. mine — for digging
  16. can — a tin
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. clip — for paper
  19. can — to be able to
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. lie — an untruth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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