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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 116 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: branch · racket · shower · firm · clip · wound · pass · game

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. clip — for paper
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. clip — to cut
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. game — a match
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pass — a permit
  11. firm — a company
  12. clip — a video
  13. branch — a division
  14. firm — steady
  15. shower — rain
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. wound — an injury
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wound — an injury
  24. racket — for tennis

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