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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 124 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. game — a match
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. craft — a skill
  6. clip — a video
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. tear — to rip
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. clip — for paper
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. branch — a division
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. toast — bread
  23. clip — to cut
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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