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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: race · current · cold · clip · prune · temple · drill · branch

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. drill — the tool
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — a video
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. current — electric
  12. race — a contest
  13. drill — a practice
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. cold — not warm
  16. clip — to cut
  17. current — happening now
  18. cold — an illness
  19. prune — to trim
  20. branch — a division
  21. current — of water
  22. drill — army training
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

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