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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  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. branch — of a tree
  2. object — to protest
  3. spell — letters
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. object — an aim
  6. season — in sport
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. cap — a hat
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. hand — in cards
  11. spell — magic
  12. season — of the year
  13. branch — a division
  14. spell — a short time
  15. hand — help
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bound — certain
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — obliged
  22. clip — to cut
  23. object — a thing
  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