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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: clip · branch · fork · bark · key · wind · land · plane

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. clip — for paper
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. branch — a division
  5. land — a country
  6. key — for a lock
  7. wind — moving air
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. key — the most important part
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. land — to come down
  15. clip — a video
  16. plane — a tool
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. clip — to cut
  21. land — ground
  22. key — in music
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bark — to shout

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