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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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468
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: craft · degree · spell · branch · rock · tear · wave · clip

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  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. rock — music
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — magic
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. clip — a video
  6. tear — to rip
  7. craft — boats
  8. clip — to cut
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — a skill
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rock — a stone
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — an amount
  18. tear — from crying
  19. clip — for paper
  20. branch — a division
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. spell — letters
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  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