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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: rule · board · branch · field · clip · wake · drill · tube

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. drill — army training
  3. rule — government
  4. tube — a container
  5. rule — a law
  6. clip — to cut
  7. tube — the underground
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. branch — a division
  15. drill — a practice
  16. board — to get on
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. field — farmland
  19. drill — the tool
  20. field — a subject
  21. clip — for paper
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. field — for sport
  24. board — a committee

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