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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: clip · branch · bowl · drill · band · patient · craft · root

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. band — a ring
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. root — of a plant
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — boats
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. drill — army training
  12. clip — for paper
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. drill — the tool
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. band — a music group
  19. clip — a video
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. drill — a practice
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a word

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