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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: staff · firm · mine · bat · trunk · branch · suit · clip

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. firm — steady
  3. mine — for digging
  4. branch — a division
  5. suit — in cards
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. staff — a stick
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. clip — for paper
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. firm — a company
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. clip — to cut
  16. staff — employees
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. firm — decided
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. staff — employees
  21. suit — to fit
  22. clip — a video
  23. bat — the animal
  24. trunk — 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