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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: shower · branch · nail · bound · leaves · prune · pass · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. shower — rain
  3. clip — to cut
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. prune — to trim
  6. shower — to wash
  7. pass — a permit
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. bound — tied together
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — certain
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. clip — a video
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. prune — the fruit
  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