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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: branch · band · bank · clip · last · tube · lash · swing

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. last — finally
  6. bank — for money
  7. swing — in golf
  8. bank — for money
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. band — a music group
  12. last — to go on
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. swing — music
  16. branch — a division
  17. swing — to play on
  18. last — final
  19. bank — of a river
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. tube — a container
  23. band — a ring
  24. clip — a video

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