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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. branch — a division
  8. shower — to wash
  9. pass — a permit
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cell — a phone
  15. shower — rain
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. game — a match
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. cell — in biology
  21. clip — for paper
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. game — a kind of play

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