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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
468
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: nail · branch · clip · bass · shower · pass · bat · wind

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bass — low music
  5. pass — a permit
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bass — the fish
  8. clip — a video
  9. branch — a division
  10. bat — the animal
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — to wash
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. branch — of a bank

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