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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bank — for money
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. bank — for money
  6. pound — a weight
  7. club — for dancing
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. dip — to sink
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. craft — a skill
  14. drill — army training
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. clip — a video
  18. club — for golf
  19. band — a ring
  20. drill — a practice
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. craft — boats
  23. band — a music group
  24. bank — of a river

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