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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. ground — a position
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. shower — rain
  6. clip — a video
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. row — a line
  9. last — final
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. last — to go on
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. clip — for paper
  15. branch — a division
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — crushed
  18. shower — to wash
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pitch — completely
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. clip — to cut

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