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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 124 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. race — humankind
  6. present — a gift
  7. clip — to cut
  8. branch — a division
  9. race — the arms race
  10. present — there
  11. clip — a video
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. cell — in biology
  14. race — a contest
  15. present — the time now
  16. roll — a list
  17. bark — to shout
  18. roll — a cake
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cell — a phone
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. sharp — clever
  24. cell — in a prison

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