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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bound — tied together
  3. mine — for digging
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. lie — to recline
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. chip — to eat
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bound — certain
  13. wake — a trail
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bound — obliged
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. chip — for betting
  23. clip — a video
  24. branch — a division

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