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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. clip — a video
  3. tear — to rip
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. clip — to cut
  7. foot — a measure
  8. tear — from crying
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cell — a phone
  11. clip — for paper
  12. date — the fruit
  13. tear — from crying
  14. prune — to trim
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. cell — in biology
  24. hide — to keep secret

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