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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. cap — of ice
  3. clip — for paper
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. content — happy
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — clever
  9. cap — a lid
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. content — the amount
  13. clip — a video
  14. land — ground
  15. cap — a hat
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. land — a country
  20. branch — a division
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. land — to come down
  23. stem — to come from
  24. branch — of a tree

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