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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · charge · present · tear · file · track · date · branch

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. file — a document
  5. tear — from crying
  6. clip — a video
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. clip — to cut
  9. charge — in control
  10. track — a song
  11. present — there
  12. present — a gift
  13. charge — a price
  14. track — to keep track
  15. branch — a division
  16. track — a path
  17. charge — electricity
  18. clip — for paper
  19. present — the time now
  20. tear — to rip
  21. date — the fruit
  22. file — a line of people
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. file — a tool

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