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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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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 · cue · hide · swing · clip · branch · lie · wind

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. cue — for pool
  4. clip — to cut
  5. lie — to recline
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. wind — moving air
  8. swing — in golf
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. race — the arms race
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. swing — music
  14. cue — a hint
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. clip — for paper
  17. branch — a division
  18. clip — a video
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. race — a contest
  21. swing — to play on
  22. wind — moving air
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. cue — a signal

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