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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 116 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: scale · track · dip · stock · clip · drill · spring · branch

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. stock — goods
  3. spring — a coil
  4. branch — a division
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. clip — for paper
  7. scale — in music
  8. stock — shares
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. scale — size or range
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. drill — the tool
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. spring — of water
  17. track — a path
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — a practice
  20. clip — a video
  21. spring — the season
  22. track — a song
  23. dip — to sink
  24. track — to keep track

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