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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. branch — a division
  3. clip — to cut
  4. mine — for digging
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for golf
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. present — a gift
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. suit — to fit
  15. suit — clothes
  16. present — the time now
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. club — for dancing
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. suit — in cards
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. present — there

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