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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. branch — a division
  3. race — the arms race
  4. pop — music
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. race — a contest
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. race — humankind
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bass — low music
  17. bass — the fish
  18. pop — soda
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. kid — child
  21. pop — to visit
  22. clip — a video
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — in cards

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