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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: lie · file · ball · hand · tube · clip · branch · squash

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  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. ball — a great time
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. clip — a video
  5. hand — help
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — to recline
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. file — a document
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a tool
  14. tube — a container
  15. ball — a dance
  16. clip — for paper
  17. hand — in cards
  18. clip — to cut
  19. branch — a division
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — to crush
  22. squash — the sport
  23. tube — the underground
  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