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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. branch — a division
  3. clip — a video
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — to breed
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. ball — a great time
  15. bear — the animal
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — government
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. bear — the animal

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