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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. clip — for paper
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pound — a weight
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. bass — the fish
  15. shower — to wash
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bass — low music
  22. branch — a division
  23. shower — rain
  24. pound — to hit hard

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