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

Word bank: drill · branch · stick · clip · pound · tear

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. tear — to rip
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. drill — army training
  6. clip — to cut
  7. tear — from crying
  8. drill — a practice
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. drill — the tool
  15. pound — a weight
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. branch — a division

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