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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. fork — in a road
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bound — certain
  7. clip — a video
  8. wound — an injury
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. file — a line of people
  12. clip — to cut
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. present — there
  17. present — the time now
  18. bound — tied together
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. file — a document
  22. present — a gift
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. bound — obliged

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