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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. file — a document
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. branch — a division
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. spell — a short time
  7. firm — decided
  8. clip — a video
  9. file — a line of people
  10. shower — to wash
  11. spell — magic
  12. clip — to cut
  13. can — a tin
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. clip — for paper
  16. shower — rain
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. file — a tool
  19. firm — a company
  20. bat — the animal
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. firm — steady
  23. spell — letters
  24. can — a tin

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