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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: suit · clip · bowl · branch · mine · band · drill · pit

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — in a race
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. drill — army training
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. clip — for paper
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pit — a hole
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. band — a music group
  13. branch — a division
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. drill — the tool
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. suit — clothes
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. suit — in cards
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. suit — to fit
  24. drill — a practice

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