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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cabinet · branch · clip · bank · mate · cold · tube · hand

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. mate — a friend
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. clip — a video
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. mate — to breed
  8. bank — for money
  9. hand — in cards
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bank — for money
  18. branch — a division
  19. tube — a container
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cold — an illness
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the body

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