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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: clip · branch · hide · race · nail · perch · rash · arm

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. perch — the fish
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. race — the arms race
  12. branch — a division
  13. clip — for paper
  14. race — a contest
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. clip — a video
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. race — humankind
  21. clip — to cut
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. nail — for a hammer

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