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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: staff · tear · track · clip · ball · tube · kid · branch

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — the underground
  4. kid — child
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. track — a path
  7. staff — employees
  8. ball — a dance
  9. track — to keep track
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. clip — a video
  12. tear — from crying
  13. clip — to cut
  14. staff — employees
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. kid — to tease
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. clip — for paper
  20. tear — to rip
  21. ball — a great time
  22. branch — a division
  23. track — a song
  24. tear — from crying

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