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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. object — a thing
  3. clip — to cut
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. object — to protest
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. spring — a coil
  8. object — an aim
  9. tear — to rip
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. spring — of water
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. spring — the season
  14. clip — for paper
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. vault — a safe
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pop — to visit
  20. clip — a video
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. pop — soda
  23. branch — a division
  24. pop — 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