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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. bank — for money
  13. last — to go on
  14. bank — of a river
  15. clip — a video
  16. roll — a cake
  17. branch — a division
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. bank — for money
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — in sport
  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