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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. clip — to cut
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. field — for sport
  5. pass — a permit
  6. tear — from crying
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — a safe
  11. band — a music group
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. field — farmland
  17. band — a ring
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. field — a subject
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. clip — a video
  24. pass — to succeed

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