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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bound — certain
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. clip — a video
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. chest — of your body
  17. sharp — clever
  18. clip — to cut
  19. branch — a division
  20. bound — obliged
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. clip — for paper

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