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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: charge · track · hand · mouse · clip · present · branch · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. clip — for paper
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. present — there
  6. track — a path
  7. charge — a price
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bat — the animal
  10. hand — in cards
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. track — to keep track
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. hand — help
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. charge — in control
  18. present — the time now
  19. present — a gift
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. branch — a division
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. track — a song

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