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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. track — a song
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. branch — a division
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. chair — a leader
  8. clip — a video
  9. can — a tin
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. can — to be able to
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — to shout
  18. can — a tin
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. clip — for paper
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a path

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