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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 120 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: track · bark · clip · band · rash · branch · bear · wind

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. track — a path
  3. branch — a division
  4. track — a song
  5. bear — the animal
  6. clip — to cut
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. rash — a series
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bark — to shout
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. band — a music group
  17. bear — the animal
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rash — hasty
  21. band — a ring
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. track — to keep track

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