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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: clip · firm · lean · branch · cue · net · bulb · wake

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. cue — for pool
  3. lean — thin
  4. net — after costs
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cue — a hint
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. firm — a company
  11. clip — a video
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. firm — steady
  14. bulb — for light
  15. firm — decided
  16. cue — a signal
  17. wake — a trail
  18. net — in sport
  19. branch — a division
  20. net — for catching
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. branch — of a bank

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