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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: branch · clip · wind · net · charge · mouse · race · ball

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. clip — a video
  4. wind — moving air
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wind — moving air
  7. ball — a dance
  8. net — in sport
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. net — for catching
  11. race — the arms race
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. net — after costs
  19. branch — a division
  20. charge — a price
  21. ball — a great time
  22. clip — for paper
  23. charge — in control
  24. charge — electricity

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