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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. rule — a law
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bank — for money
  5. clip — for paper
  6. spring — of water
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. foot — a measure
  12. spring — a coil
  13. tube — the underground
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. tube — a container
  17. spring — the season
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. rule — government
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bank — of a river
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — help

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