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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: bound · clip · bear · season · row · shower · branch · rock

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  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. clip — a video
  2. bound — certain
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. rock — music
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. clip — to cut
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bear — the animal
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — in sport
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. season — of the year
  15. row — a line
  16. bear — the animal
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rock — a stone
  19. clip — for paper
  20. branch — a division
  21. bound — obliged
  22. shower — rain
  23. bound — tied together
  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