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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: bat · mark · bulb · branch · spell · clip · straw · staff

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. mark — a trace
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. spell — letters
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. clip — to cut
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. mark — a grade
  11. bat — the animal
  12. spell — magic
  13. staff — employees
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. clip — for paper
  16. spell — a short time
  17. staff — employees
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bulb — for light
  20. clip — a video
  21. staff — a stick
  22. branch — a division
  23. bulb — for light
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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