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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  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. cell — in biology
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cell — a phone
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. clip — a video
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. clip — for paper
  11. branch — a division
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. pit — in a race
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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