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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 120 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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. rest — a break
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. last — finally
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — a law
  7. rest — what's left
  8. track — a path
  9. track — a song
  10. clip — for paper
  11. rest — what's left
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. tube — a container
  14. last — to go on
  15. rule — government
  16. track — to keep track
  17. game — a match
  18. clip — to cut
  19. last — final
  20. clip — a video
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. branch — a division
  24. tube — the underground

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