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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 116 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bank — for money
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. clip — for paper
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. clip — a video
  9. march — music
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. rash — a series
  13. bank — of a river
  14. net — for catching
  15. clip — to cut
  16. chair — a leader
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. march — the month
  19. net — after costs
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. bank — for money
  22. snap — to click
  23. march — the month
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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