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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 · calf · march · toast · branch · tear · cap · spring

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. spring — the season
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. clip — a video
  5. branch — a division
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cap — a hat
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. clip — to cut
  12. tear — to rip
  13. toast — bread
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. spring — of water
  16. tear — from crying
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. cap — a lid
  19. march — the month
  20. spring — a coil
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. tear — from crying
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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