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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 chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. clip — for paper
  3. land — to come down
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — rain
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. key — for a lock
  9. spring — of water
  10. row — a line
  11. key — the most important part
  12. shower — to wash
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. spring — a coil
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. clip — a video
  18. spring — the season
  19. row — to paddle
  20. key — in music
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. clip — to cut
  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