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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: branch · clip · row · file · jam · land · scale · bound

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. branch — a division
  3. file — a line of people
  4. land — a country
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bound — certain
  7. clip — to cut
  8. row — to paddle
  9. file — a document
  10. row — a line
  11. clip — a video
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. clip — for paper
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. land — ground
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — in music
  18. bound — obliged
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. bound — tied together
  21. file — a tool
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. jam — in traffic

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