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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: present · clip · pound · branch · shower · race

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. clip — to cut
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. branch — a division
  6. clip — a video
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. present — a gift
  9. race — the arms race
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. pound — a weight
  12. race — humankind
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. race — a contest
  16. clip — for paper
  17. shower — rain
  18. present — there

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