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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: track · rash · clip · patient · chair · branch · date · season

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. rash — hasty
  4. track — a song
  5. rash — a series
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. chair — a leader
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. clip — to cut
  10. season — of the year
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a path
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. branch — a division
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. date — the fruit
  17. season — in sport
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. clip — for paper
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. patient — a sick person

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