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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · pit · bear · branch · mine · clip · lean · root

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. pit — in a race
  4. clip — a video
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bear — the animal
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bear — the animal
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — the cause
  15. mine — for digging
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pit — a hole
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — thin
  20. branch — a division
  21. lean — to bend
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. root — of a word

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