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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. club — for golf
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bass — low music
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. rest — a break
  7. cap — a lid
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. land — to come down
  10. club — a group
  11. clip — a video
  12. bass — the fish
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. cap — a hat
  15. rest — what's left
  16. land — ground
  17. cap — of ice
  18. club — for dancing
  19. land — a country
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. branch — a division
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bass — the instrument

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