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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. bore — to tire
  4. clip — a video
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. clip — for paper
  11. march — the month
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bore — to drill
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a line
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. march — music
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. march — the month

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