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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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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: kick · branch · wake · toast · clip · cue · temple · land

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. branch — a division
  4. toast — bread
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. land — ground
  8. clip — a video
  9. wake — a trail
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. cue — a hint
  12. land — to come down
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. clip — to cut
  15. land — a country
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. kick — in football
  20. cue — a signal
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. cue — for pool
  24. toast — the most admired

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