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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: clip · root · branch · board · pit · arm · net · bark

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. 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. net — after costs
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. root — of a word
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a hole
  15. root — the cause
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. branch — a division
  18. net — for catching
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. board — a committee
  21. net — in sport
  22. board — to get on
  23. bark — to shout
  24. 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