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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: march · clip · branch · fork · pit · suit · sharp · tube

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. branch — a division
  3. pit — in a race
  4. suit — clothes
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. suit — in cards
  9. sharp — clever
  10. march — music
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. pit — a hole
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. tube — the underground
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. suit — to fit
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. fork — in a road

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