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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'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. last — to go on
  3. bank — of a river
  4. kid — child
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. press — newspapers
  8. clip — a video
  9. last — finally
  10. bank — for money
  11. roll — a list
  12. roll — a cake
  13. bark — to shout
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. last — final
  18. press — a publisher
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. clip — for paper
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. press — to push
  24. clip — to cut

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