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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. firm — a company
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. branch — a division
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. firm — steady
  7. march — the month
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — high quality
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. tear — from crying
  13. clip — to cut
  14. firm — decided
  15. kick — in football
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. march — the month
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. file — a tool
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. kick — a thrill

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