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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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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 · kid · trunk · cap · key · bear · rest · branch

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. rest — what's left
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. key — in music
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cap — a lid
  11. clip — a video
  12. cap — of ice
  13. rest — a break
  14. bear — the animal
  15. key — the most important part
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. cap — a hat
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. key — for a lock
  22. rest — what's left
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. branch — a division

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