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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: march · rest · branch · clip · swing · trunk · stock · racket

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. march — music
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. swing — to play on
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. march — the month
  11. branch — a division
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. rest — what's left
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. swing — in golf
  17. rest — a break
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — shares
  20. swing — music
  21. stock — goods
  22. march — the month
  23. rest — what's left
  24. clip — a video

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