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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. rash — hasty
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — a weight
  5. clip — a video
  6. bank — for money
  7. mark — a trace
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mark — a grade
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. bank — of a river
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. rash — a series
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bank — for money
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. arm — a part of something

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