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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 120 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: mine · clip · rush · racket · branch · saw · march · lean

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. clip — to cut
  3. branch — a division
  4. clip — a video
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. march — the month
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — thin
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. march — the month
  14. lean — to bend
  15. rush — hurry
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. clip — for paper
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. march — music
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. rush — a thrill

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