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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. present — there
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. ground — crushed
  6. present — a gift
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. ground — a position
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. present — the time now
  11. bass — the fish
  12. clip — to cut
  13. branch — a division
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — the fish
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. prune — to trim
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. ground — the earth
  20. prune — to trim
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. bass — low music
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. clip — a video

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