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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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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: branch · straw · clip · tube · band · fall · saw · fan

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tube — the underground
  5. saw — the tool
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. tube — a container
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. band — a ring
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. fall — the season
  19. branch — a division
  20. clip — for paper
  21. fall — to drop
  22. saw — the tool
  23. band — a music group
  24. straw — dry grass

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