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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 120 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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. staff — employees
  3. present — the time now
  4. rash — hasty
  5. clip — for paper
  6. present — there
  7. present — a gift
  8. staff — a stick
  9. branch — a division
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. staff — employees
  13. tube — the underground
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. tear — to rip
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — to bend
  18. tear — from crying
  19. clip — to cut
  20. tear — from crying
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. lean — thin
  23. rash — a series
  24. tube — a container

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