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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. branch — a division
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bat — the animal
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cap — of ice
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. can — a tin
  15. cap — a hat
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — a trail
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — to be able to

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