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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fall · season · arm · branch · cell · clip · field · suit

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. field — farmland
  3. suit — clothes
  4. season — of the year
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. season — in sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — the season
  9. field — for sport
  10. suit — to fit
  11. cell — a phone
  12. clip — for paper
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. suit — in cards
  16. clip — to cut
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. cell — in biology
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. field — a subject
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. fall — to drop
  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