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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 · pit · swing · fine · branch · kid · rash · mouse

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fine — high quality
  3. branch — a division
  4. rash — a series
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. swing — to play on
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. pit — in a race
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. swing — in golf
  15. pit — a hole
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fine — all right
  18. clip — a video
  19. rash — hasty
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. swing — music
  22. clip — for paper
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — of a bank

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