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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 116 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: march · bear · bank · clip · chair · branch · key · kid

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bank — for money
  4. key — for a lock
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bear — the animal
  8. clip — for paper
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. march — music
  11. chair — a leader
  12. key — in music
  13. clip — a video
  14. march — the month
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. branch — a division
  18. key — the most important part
  19. kid — to tease
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. kid — child
  22. bank — of a river
  23. bank — for money
  24. chair — to sit on

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