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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. bank — for money
  3. bass — low music
  4. bank — for money
  5. clip — for paper
  6. spring — the season
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. spring — a coil
  9. clip — to cut
  10. present — there
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. row — to paddle
  17. clip — a video
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. spring — of water
  20. row — a line
  21. present — a gift
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bank — of a river

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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