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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ball · suit · band · dip · branch · clip

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. suit — in cards
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a music group
  5. ball — a great time
  6. clip — a video
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a dance
  9. suit — to fit
  10. branch — a division
  11. clip — to cut
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. suit — clothes
  14. clip — for paper
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to sink
  18. branch — of a bank

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