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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: can · bat · trunk · branch · mark · leaves · lean · clip

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a grade
  3. can — a tin
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. clip — a video
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. can — a tin
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. lean — to bend
  11. branch — a division
  12. clip — to cut
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. mark — a trace
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. clip — for paper
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. lean — thin
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. can — to be able to
  24. leaves — 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