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

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. ground — a position
  3. court — of law
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bank — for money
  6. ground — crushed
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pound — a weight
  10. clip — to cut
  11. court — for sport
  12. bank — of a river
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. degree — temperature
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. degree — from a university
  18. lean — thin
  19. clip — for paper
  20. lean — to bend
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. degree — an amount
  23. clip — a video
  24. court — of a king

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