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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: bound · clip · land · last · can · degree · branch · craft

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. can — to be able to
  4. bound — certain
  5. clip — to cut
  6. degree — from a university
  7. clip — a video
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. land — a country
  11. can — a tin
  12. craft — boats
  13. last — final
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. last — finally
  16. land — to come down
  17. craft — a skill
  18. clip — for paper
  19. degree — an amount
  20. last — to go on
  21. land — ground
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — tied together

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