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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: wound · clip · drill · sharp · lean · band · rash · branch

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  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. drill — a practice
  2. lean — thin
  3. clip — a video
  4. branch — a division
  5. wound — an injury
  6. clip — for paper
  7. band — a music group
  8. rash — hasty
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. rash — a series
  11. drill — army training
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. wound — an injury
  14. drill — the tool
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. band — a ring
  19. lean — to bend
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. sharp — clever
  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