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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. court — of law
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. tube — the underground
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. clip — a video
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. court — for sport
  13. squash — the sport
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. clip — to cut
  16. track — a path
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. squash — to crush
  19. track — a song
  20. court — of a king
  21. clip — for paper
  22. tube — a container
  23. branch — a division
  24. track — to keep track

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