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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 · bark · roll · branch · mug · present · track · club

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. present — a gift
  3. track — a song
  4. roll — a cake
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. clip — a video
  8. bark — to shout
  9. club — for dancing
  10. roll — a list
  11. present — there
  12. club — for golf
  13. mug — a face
  14. club — a group
  15. track — to keep track
  16. present — the time now
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. branch — a division
  19. clip — for paper
  20. mug — to rob
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. track — a path
  23. clip — to cut
  24. branch — of a tree

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