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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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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: mark · cabinet · branch · club · clip · craft · land · kid

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. branch — a division
  3. craft — boats
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. craft — a skill
  6. club — a group
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. club — for golf
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. club — for dancing
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. land — a country
  14. clip — a video
  15. land — ground
  16. kid — to tease
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. land — to come down
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. clip — for paper
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. clip — to cut
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. mark — a grade

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