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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: mug · track · game · tear · foot · branch · chair · clip

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. game — a match
  3. game — wild animals
  4. clip — to cut
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. tear — to rip
  7. track — a song
  8. branch — a division
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. mug — a cup
  11. clip — a video
  12. chair — a leader
  13. track — to keep track
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. track — a path
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. tear — from crying
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. mug — a face
  21. mug — to rob
  22. clip — for paper
  23. foot — a measure
  24. tear — from crying

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