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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. court — of a king
  6. bank — of a river
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bank — for money
  9. mark — a grade
  10. court — of law
  11. bank — for money
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mark — a trace
  16. pitch — completely
  17. band — a ring
  18. clip — a video
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. mine — for digging
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. court — for sport

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