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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 chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. spring — of water
  3. drill — the tool
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. branch — a division
  6. clip — a video
  7. drill — army training
  8. prune — to trim
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. drill — a practice
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. plane — a tool
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. spring — a coil
  19. clip — for paper
  20. perch — the fish
  21. spring — the season
  22. season — of the year
  23. clip — to cut
  24. plane — in geometry

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