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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — a video
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — to drill
  10. race — humankind
  11. branch — a division
  12. prune — to trim
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. clip — for paper
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. race — a contest
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pit — a hole
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. race — the arms race
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. pit — in a race

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