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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. degree — from a university
  4. firm — decided
  5. lie — to recline
  6. firm — a company
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. rest — a break
  10. season — in sport
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. degree — an amount
  15. branch — a division
  16. season — of the year
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. degree — temperature
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. firm — steady
  24. lie — an untruth

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