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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. clip — a video
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. drill — army training
  5. cold — not warm
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — for money
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. net — for catching
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — after costs
  17. bark — to shout
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. drill — a practice
  20. clip — for paper
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. drill — the tool
  24. racket — for tennis

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