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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: clip · roll · fork · branch · bat · bowl · firm · mine

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. fork — in a road
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bat — the animal
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. mine — for digging
  10. roll — a list
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. firm — steady
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. firm — a company
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. roll — a cake
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. branch — of a bank
  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