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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 116 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: branch · ground · saw · chair · file · clip · kid · cell

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. file — a line of people
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. cell — a phone
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. clip — to cut
  8. ground — a position
  9. branch — a division
  10. file — a document
  11. ground — crushed
  12. saw — the tool
  13. file — a tool
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. clip — a video
  16. ground — the earth
  17. kid — to tease
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a leader
  20. clip — for paper
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. kid — child
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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