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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bear — the animal
  3. clip — to cut
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a tool
  7. rest — a break
  8. scale — size or range
  9. rest — what's left
  10. scale — in music
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — the tool
  14. clip — for paper
  15. file — a document
  16. clip — a video
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. bear — the animal
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — a weight
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. rest — what's left
  23. branch — a division
  24. scale — for weighing

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