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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. spell — letters
  3. bank — for money
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. track — a song
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bank — for money
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bank — of a river
  11. spell — magic
  12. march — music
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. track — a path
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. march — the month
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. track — to keep track
  24. march — the month

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