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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. track — to keep track
  4. charge — a price
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. clip — to cut
  9. charge — electricity
  10. track — a song
  11. bore — to tire
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. branch — a division
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. clip — a video
  18. vault — a safe
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bore — to drill
  21. charge — in control
  22. clip — for paper
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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