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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.

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: bowl · bay · clip · last · squash · trunk · land · branch

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. last — final
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. branch — a division
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. clip — a video
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. land — a country
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. last — to go on
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. last — finally
  20. land — ground
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. squash — the sport
  23. clip — for paper
  24. land — to come down

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