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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  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. trunk — of a car
  2. season — of the year
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. season — in sport
  6. ground — the earth
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. ground — a position
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — tied together
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cell — in biology
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. cell — in a prison
  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