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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: firm · clip · present · lean · ball · branch · fan · kid

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. present — the time now
  3. lean — to bend
  4. clip — to cut
  5. kid — child
  6. clip — a video
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. firm — steady
  9. present — there
  10. lean — thin
  11. branch — a division
  12. kid — to tease
  13. clip — for paper
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. ball — a dance
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. present — a gift
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. firm — decided
  24. ball — a great time

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