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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. branch — a division
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. last — finally
  8. bass — the fish
  9. clip — to cut
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. last — final
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. clip — a video
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. last — to go on
  19. tube — the underground
  20. clip — for paper
  21. tube — a container
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bass — low music

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