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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: club · hide · clip · plane · branch · tear · bear · wound

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. branch — a division
  3. tear — to rip
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. club — for dancing
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. clip — a video
  11. wound — an injury
  12. club — for golf
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. tear — from crying
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. wound — an injury
  17. clip — to cut
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. plane — a tool
  22. club — a group
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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