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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: present · tube · race · face · lash · clip · branch · mine

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. present — there
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — part of the head
  5. present — a gift
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — a division
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. clip — for paper
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. clip — a video
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. race — a contest
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. mine — for digging
  18. race — the arms race
  19. present — the time now
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. tube — a container
  22. face — to point toward
  23. race — humankind
  24. tube — the underground

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