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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 was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. court — for sport
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. rule — a law
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. branch — a division
  10. key — for a lock
  11. rule — government
  12. staff — employees
  13. key — in music
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. staff — a stick
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. key — the most important part
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. staff — employees
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. clip — for paper
  24. wind — moving air

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