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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: snap · deal · clip · last · rash · bear · track · branch

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. track — to keep track
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. track — a song
  5. last — to go on
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. last — final
  9. clip — a video
  10. snap — to click
  11. branch — a division
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. track — a path
  14. deal — to handle
  15. rash — a series
  16. last — finally
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rash — hasty
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. rash — on the skin

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