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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. branch — a division
  4. row — a line
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — for golf
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. club — a group
  9. row — to paddle
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. current — happening now
  12. kick — in football
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. last — to go on
  15. clip — a video
  16. current — of water
  17. current — electric
  18. last — finally
  19. last — final
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. clip — for paper
  22. lie — to recline
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. branch — of a bank

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