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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: ball · pitcher · saw · land · clip · sharp · bound · branch

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. branch — a division
  4. clip — a video
  5. land — to come down
  6. bound — obliged
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. clip — to cut
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. clip — for paper
  14. ball — a dance
  15. bound — tied together
  16. ball — a great time
  17. bound — certain
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. sharp — clever
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. saw — the tool
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. sharp — exactly

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