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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 120 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. branch — a division
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. saw — the tool
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. pound — a weight
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. vault — a safe
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. dip — to sink
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. clip — to cut
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. saw — the tool
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. clip — a video

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