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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. branch — a division
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bat — the animal
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. clip — a video
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. wound — an injury
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. pass — a permit
  24. wound — an injury

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