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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. clip — for paper
  3. season — in sport
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. clip — to cut
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. net — in sport
  9. branch — a division
  10. saw — the tool
  11. rush — hurry
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. band — a ring
  14. season — of the year
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. swing — in golf
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. swing — music
  20. band — a music group
  21. swing — to play on
  22. saw — the tool
  23. clip — a video
  24. rush — a thrill

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