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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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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: clip · band · branch · craft · rule · mouse · hand · drill

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — the tool
  8. band — a music group
  9. rule — government
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. hand — in cards
  13. branch — a division
  14. clip — for paper
  15. craft — a skill
  16. band — a ring
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. craft — boats
  20. clip — a video
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. drill — a practice
  23. hand — help
  24. branch — of a bank

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