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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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. clip — to cut
  2. firm — steady
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pass — a permit
  5. firm — decided
  6. band — a music group
  7. branch — a division
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. land — a country
  10. land — to come down
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. band — a ring
  13. firm — a company
  14. clip — a video
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. clip — for paper
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. bass — the fish
  20. sharp — clever
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. land — ground
  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