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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. present — the time now
  4. cell — in biology
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cell — a phone
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. present — a gift
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. branch — a division
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. present — there
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. prune — to trim
  22. file — a tool
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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