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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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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: branch · clip · pitcher · wound · ball · face · track · mark

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. track — a song
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. face — to confront
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — a trace
  8. wound — an injury
  9. clip — a video
  10. track — to keep track
  11. ball — a dance
  12. face — part of the head
  13. track — a path
  14. face — to point toward
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — for paper
  20. ball — a great time
  21. clip — to cut
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. branch — a division

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