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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: straw · saw · present · branch · bulb · bank · field · clip

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. field — a subject
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. clip — a video
  5. present — a gift
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. clip — for paper
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bank — for money
  12. field — farmland
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bank — of a river
  16. branch — a division
  17. bank — for money
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bulb — for light
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bulb — for light
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — there
  24. field — for sport

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