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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. clip — for paper
  5. track — a path
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. degree — temperature
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wake — a trail
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. mine — for digging
  14. lean — thin
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. degree — from a university
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. clip — a video
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. lean — to bend
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. track — to keep track
  23. clip — to cut
  24. track — a song

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