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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: deal · rush · club · track · tear · branch · hand · clip

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. club — for dancing
  3. tear — from crying
  4. clip — a video
  5. track — a song
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. clip — to cut
  10. hand — help
  11. tear — to rip
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. tear — from crying
  15. track — a path
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rush — hurry
  19. track — to keep track
  20. club — for golf
  21. deal — to handle
  22. clip — for paper
  23. branch — a division
  24. club — a group

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