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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 · branch · chair · track · temple · cue · hand · shower

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. cue — for pool
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. shower — to wash
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. shower — rain
  10. cue — a hint
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a song
  13. chair — a leader
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. hand — in cards
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. track — a path
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. cue — a signal
  23. clip — a video
  24. chair — to sit on

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