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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: clip · stand · cold · roll · fork · branch · toast · calf

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. fork — in a road
  3. roll — a cake
  4. clip — to cut
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. stand — to bear
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. roll — a list
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. branch — a division
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. toast — bread
  20. cold — an illness
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. cold — not warm
  24. clip — a video

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