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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. present — a gift
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bank — of a river
  7. clip — a video
  8. present — there
  9. mark — a grade
  10. clip — to cut
  11. saw — the tool
  12. mark — a trace
  13. wind — moving air
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bank — for money
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bank — for money
  24. branch — a division

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