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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 120 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. clip — a video
  4. track — a path
  5. track — to keep track
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bank — of a river
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. bank — for money
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. march — the month
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. march — music
  14. clip — to cut
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bank — for money
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. degree — an amount
  22. track — a song
  23. march — the month
  24. degree — temperature

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