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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: hand · cap · fan · rest · branch · clip · saw · last

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — in cards
  3. branch — a division
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. last — finally
  6. clip — a video
  7. saw — the tool
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. rest — a break
  10. saw — the tool
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. last — to go on
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — a hat
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rest — what's left
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. rest — what's left
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. last — final
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. clip — for paper

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