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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. club — a group
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. march — music
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. clip — a video
  9. club — for golf
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. march — the month
  12. clip — to cut
  13. game — a match
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. clip — for paper
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. march — the month
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. club — for dancing
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. bowl — a dish

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