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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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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 · fork · branch · shower · wind · wound · plane · temple

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. plane — a tool
  3. clip — for paper
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — a division
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. wound — an injury
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. fork — in a road
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. shower — rain
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. shower — to wash
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. clip — to cut

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