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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: land · clip · rule · squash · snap · track · branch · season

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. track — a path
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. clip — for paper
  5. snap — to click
  6. rule — a law
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — a division
  9. land — a country
  10. season — in sport
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. track — to keep track
  13. clip — to cut
  14. track — a song
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. land — ground
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. season — of the year
  20. land — to come down
  21. clip — a video
  22. squash — to crush
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. squash — the sport

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