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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: lash · band · fine · clip · dip · branch · coach · squash

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. clip — for paper
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. squash — to crush
  5. band — a music group
  6. clip — a video
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. fine — all right
  9. squash — the sport
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. branch — a division
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. band — a ring
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — to sink
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. fine — high quality
  23. clip — to cut
  24. lash — an eyelash

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