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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: clip · spring · cue · charge · cold · snap · branch · bowl

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. clip — a video
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. spring — the season
  9. charge — electricity
  10. charge — in control
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. snap — to click
  14. charge — a price
  15. cue — for pool
  16. branch — a division
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. spring — of water
  20. cue — a signal
  21. spring — a coil
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. cue — a hint
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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