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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. clip — for paper
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. clip — to cut
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. net — for catching
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — the tool
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. clip — a video
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to click
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — in sport
  18. drill — a practice
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — of a tree

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