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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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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. plane — a tool
  3. track — a path
  4. branch — a division
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. season — of the year
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. track — a song
  13. track — to keep track
  14. spell — letters
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. clip — a video
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. spell — a short time
  19. clip — to cut
  20. spell — magic
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — in sport

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