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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: arm · temple · fan · cold · branch · lash · clip · lie

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. branch — a division
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. clip — a video
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cold — an illness
  10. clip — to cut
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. lie — to recline
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. clip — for paper
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. cold — not warm
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. fan — to cool the air

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