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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. clip — to cut
  4. branch — a division
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. mark — a trace
  7. lean — thin
  8. mark — a grade
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. clip — for paper
  11. chip — to eat
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. sharp — clever
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. clip — a video
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. kick — in football
  23. chip — for betting
  24. sharp — exactly

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