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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: present · coach · staff · clip · field · wind · shower · branch

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. field — for sport
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — there
  5. staff — employees
  6. clip — for paper
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. staff — employees
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wind — moving air
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. clip — to cut
  13. staff — a stick
  14. field — farmland
  15. branch — a division
  16. shower — to wash
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. shower — rain
  20. field — a subject
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. present — the time now
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wind — moving air

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