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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. clip — a video
  6. land — ground
  7. pop — soda
  8. land — a country
  9. game — a match
  10. shower — rain
  11. pop — to visit
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. game — wild animals
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. shower — to wash
  24. pop — music

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