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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 120 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wake — a trail
  4. bank — of a river
  5. squash — the sport
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. branch — a division
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — music
  15. squash — to crush
  16. fine — all right
  17. fine — high quality
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bank — for money
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. clip — a video
  22. bank — for money
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. branch — of a bank

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