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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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. track — to keep track
  2. clip — for paper
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. branch — a division
  5. clip — a video
  6. cell — in biology
  7. track — a path
  8. bore — to drill
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. clip — to cut
  11. track — a song
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bore — to tire
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. stand — to bear
  16. cell — a phone
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. toast — bread
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. bat — for baseball
  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