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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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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 · branch · craft · clip · track · arm · mine · march

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. clip — a video
  5. staff — a stick
  6. track — a song
  7. track — to keep track
  8. clip — for paper
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. craft — a skill
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. craft — boats
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. march — the month
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. track — a path
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. clip — to cut
  23. branch — a division
  24. mine — for digging

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