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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: pit · branch · tube · lie · clip · wound · saw · tear

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. saw — the tool
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pit — in a race
  5. clip — a video
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tear — from crying
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pit — a hole
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. branch — a division
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tube — a container
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. lie — to recline
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. lie — an untruth

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