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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: race · branch · deal · rash · clip · season · arm · patient

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. rash — hasty
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. race — the arms race
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. clip — for paper
  9. deal — to handle
  10. rash — a series
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. season — of the year
  13. clip — a video
  14. race — humankind
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. season — in sport
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. race — a contest
  19. branch — a division
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. clip — to cut
  24. deal — a big deal

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