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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: track · can · clip · arm · game · branch · fine · ball

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. track — a song
  3. can — to be able to
  4. branch — a division
  5. can — a tin
  6. game — wild animals
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. clip — a video
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. track — a path
  15. track — to keep track
  16. clip — for paper
  17. can — a tin
  18. clip — to cut
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a great time
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. arm — part of the body

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