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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 120 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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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: last · bass · fine · net · bore · clip · branch · track

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. net — for catching
  3. last — final
  4. bore — to drill
  5. clip — to cut
  6. track — to keep track
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bass — the fish
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. track — a path
  11. last — to go on
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. track — a song
  14. clip — a video
  15. bass — low music
  16. fine — all right
  17. net — after costs
  18. clip — for paper
  19. net — in sport
  20. bore — to tire
  21. branch — a division
  22. last — finally
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. fine — high quality

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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