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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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — high quality
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. bank — of a river
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. bank — for money
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bank — for money
  12. clip — a video
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. court — of a king
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. wind — moving air

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