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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. suit — in cards
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. chair — a leader
  9. branch — a division
  10. clip — a video
  11. cap — of ice
  12. mark — a trace
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. clip — for paper
  16. suit — clothes
  17. game — a match
  18. suit — to fit
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cap — a lid
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. cap — a hat
  24. mark — a grade

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