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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.

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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. current — electric
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. hand — help
  6. clip — to cut
  7. branch — a division
  8. net — after costs
  9. clip — for paper
  10. current — of water
  11. wind — moving air
  12. clip — a video
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. track — a song
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. net — in sport
  20. current — happening now
  21. hand — in cards
  22. track — a path
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. net — for catching

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