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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: branch · clip · pop · date · file · season · bear · ball

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. bear — the animal
  3. clip — for paper
  4. season — of the year
  5. file — a tool
  6. pop — music
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. clip — a video
  9. branch — a division
  10. ball — a dance
  11. clip — to cut
  12. file — a line of people
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. pop — soda
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. ball — a great time
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. season — in sport
  20. pop — to visit
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bear — the animal
  24. date — the fruit

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