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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. wax — to grow
  6. bass — the fish
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. clip — for paper
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. saw — the tool
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. degree — an amount
  19. perch — the fish
  20. branch — a division
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. rush — hurry
  23. saw — the tool
  24. clip — a video

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