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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. fork — in a road
  3. branch — a division
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. present — there
  6. track — a song
  7. spring — the season
  8. track — a path
  9. degree — from a university
  10. track — to keep track
  11. clip — to cut
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bound — certain
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bound — obliged
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — temperature
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — the time now
  22. spring — of water
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. clip — for paper

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