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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — for money
  6. tear — to rip
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. tear — from crying
  9. clip — a video
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — music
  12. bank — of a river
  13. mate — a friend
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. clip — to cut
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. swing — in golf
  18. chair — a leader
  19. game — a match
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. dip — to sink
  23. mate — to breed
  24. clip — for paper

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