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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. branch — a division
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. clip — a video
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. clip — for paper
  11. drill — a practice
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. drill — army training
  14. kid — to tease
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. drill — the tool
  17. track — a path
  18. track — to keep track
  19. lie — to recline
  20. kid — child
  21. track — a song
  22. clip — to cut
  23. saw — the tool
  24. foot — a measure

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