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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. file — a tool
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. key — the most important part
  11. stem — to come from
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. file — a line of people
  15. branch — a division
  16. clip — a video
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. file — a document
  20. bass — low music
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — in music
  23. clip — to cut
  24. stem — of a plant

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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