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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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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: drill · stock · staff · branch · clip · bat · temple · squash

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. branch — a division
  3. drill — the tool
  4. bat — the animal
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. squash — the sport
  7. clip — to cut
  8. squash — to crush
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. staff — employees
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — a practice
  16. staff — employees
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. staff — a stick
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. stock — goods
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. stock — shares
  24. squash — the vegetable

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